Odegaard on title race: "We are still here"

Every home game, Martin Odegaard gives you his thoughts on the goings-on around the club in his captain’s notes for the matchday programme.

Ahead of our clash with Chelsea, the skipper lifts the lid on the mood in camp before and after our win at Wolves, how we're dealing with the fixture congestion and what he expects from Chelsea this evening.

The result at Wolves on Saturday was massive for us - we had to respond after the previous two matches. It was really tough for us after the Aston Villa and Bayern games. The defeat in the league, then going to Germany and going out of the Champions League was tough. We were all really down and really disappointed after that, and it took a lot of energy from everyone, and a lot of commitment, to get ourselves back up.

We were all down after returning from Germany, but we knew that going into the Wolves game on Sunday we would go back on top with a win, so that was a massive motivation for us. We wanted to strike back, to make a statement that we are still here – that drove us on. We did brilliantly to do that because Wolves is a difficult place to get a result. To go away again, more travelling, and a quick turnaround – it was a tough challenge but we can be very proud of how we did it and the result we got on Saturday.

A lot was said after we lost those two games last week, and you try to shut it out, but you can’t ignore it all, so also you need to use it to your own advantage, and try to show how together we are.
Having to deal with criticism and negativity is a part of football, but you can use that as a motivation. We wanted to show our qualities at the weekend, and going back to the top of the table is a good reminder that we are still doing well.

That result on Sunday puts us in good shape going into tonight’s game with Chelsea. It’s a quick turnaround again, but we are used to that now. When you get into a rhythm like this it makes it easier to recover. We know we have to take care of the body between games, rest well, and we will be ready to go again.

Chelsea will provide a huge test for us. They are on a long unbeaten run in the league, and to be honest I don’t think their league position tells you much when you see how much quality they have in their squad. We saw again at the weekend against Manchester City in the FA Cup that they can create chances in any game. They gave them a proper fight because they have individual quality all over the pitch. They have a lot of players who are good on transitions, and players in good goalscoring form, so we have to be aware of that.

At this stage of the season, though, every single game will be really tough. You have to be right at your best because the games are so important to every team. For us I don’t think we change our mindset whoever we play – the games are so big, and the only way to win is by leaving absolutely everything on the pitch.

Read the rest of Martin's notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying a copy of the Arsenal v Chelsea programme either around the stadium or online