Odegaard: "These are the days you dream about"

After putting in a man-of-the-match display to help us beat PSV Eindhoven 4-0, Martin Odegaard was thrilled to be a part of such a huge night for the club.

He rounded off the scoring after first-half strikes from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus saw us record a heavy victory, on an emotional night for players, management and supporters as we announced our return to the competition in style.

And the skipper admitted that leading us out at Emirates Stadium and playing his part in a fine result is the stuff dreams are made of.

Reflecting on our night’s work, Martin said: “I think it was a great start. I think we showed it straight from the start how eager we were to be back in this competition, and how motivated we were. You saw it in the stadium, the atmosphere of the fans and also on the pitch; we went for it from the start.

“I think we were really pumped. We were really eager to show a big performance and to be back in this competition means a lot for us players, the fans and the club, for everyone and I think you saw that straight from the start.

“The atmosphere was unreal. I think these are the days that you dream about when you were a little kid, playing on the pitch with friends. These are the days you dream about, so it’s unbelievable and I really enjoyed it.”

Even though we sent our supporters home buzzing with the display and the result, the captain feels that there is still much more to come from our squad as we continue to develop as the early weeks of the season roll on.

Martin wanting more from a 4-0 win will raise eyebrows from our Premier League rivals, and with the small matter of a north London derby now on the horizon, the Norwegian midfield is hoping our desire to keep improving will hopefully pay dividends again when we return to Emirates Stadium on the weekend.

“I think there were a lot of things we could have done better,” he reflected. “I think without the ball, we let them run too many times and gave them a lot of space, especially in the first half. And then we adjusted a little bit in the second half, and it was better, but on the ball we played some really good football and scored some great goals.

 

“We have to take the good things and learn from the things we could have done better. All the games are coming quickly now and we have to be ready for Sunday, recover and get the legs fresh again.”