Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, is staying positive despite the team throwing away two-goal leads in consecutive Premier League games. After only seven minutes of their game against West Ham, Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring and Odegaard’s volley made it two. However, Said Benrahma’s penalty gave West Ham hope and Jarrod Bowen scored an equaliser soon after. Despite this, Arsenal remain at the top of the league, four points ahead of Manchester City who have a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, admitted his side should have secured the three points. He said that they had lost purpose and conceded a terrible penalty, giving West Ham hope. He also said that his team lacked the purpose needed for the third and fourth goal.
Odegaard believes that Arsenal must maintain their mentality and keep believing in order to become Premier League champions. With Manchester City on a 10-game winning streak and Erling Haaland breaking goalscoring records, they are looking unstoppable in their pursuit of a potential fifth title in six seasons.
Former England defender Matt Upson said that the key for Arsenal now is to not let doubt creep in and that it is the job of Arteta and his staff to not allow the players to feel down or negative about themselves. Chris Sutton, a Premier League title winner with Blackburn, believes that Arsenal could end up regretting their 2-2 draws with Liverpool and West Ham and questions whether they have the mental resilience to go on and win the title.
Arsenal remain at the top of the league, but they must stay focused and maintain their mentality if they are to become Premier League champions. Mikel Arteta and his staff must ensure that the players do not become despondent or negative about themselves and that they do not let doubt creep in. The Gunners must also show more purpose and mental resilience if they are to secure the three points in their upcoming matches. If they can do this, then they will be well on their way to becoming English champions for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04.