Martin Odegaard was unhappy with his side’s display against Manchester City, saying that the performance was the ‘most painful thing’ about the 4-1 defeat. Despite having a five-point lead going into the game, Arsenal were unable to match City’s quality and were outclassed. The Gunners restored their lead at the top of the table on Tuesday by beating Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates, with Odegaard scoring twice. He admits that the ‘anger’ of the defeat to City helped to motivate Arsenal to see off their London rivals, but he says their performance at the Etihad and the Gunners’ failure to ‘play their own game’ was more troubling.
Odegaard’s brace has taken his tally to the season to 14, which is his best in Arsenal colours. He is happy to chip in with more goals, saying that he just tries to help the team and that Granit Xhaka’s two good passes made it easier for him. He also believes that Arsenal have to fight and keep going until the end of the season in order to achieve their goals.