Before every game at Emirates Stadium, Martin Odegaard lifts the lid on the mood in the camp via his captain’s notes published in the matchday programme.
Ahead of today’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, he discusses the buzz before the derby, his joy at seeing Norway qualify for the World Cup and how his injury rehab is going Here is a snippet:
This is the perfect game for the squad to come back to after the international break. It’s a special fixture, always a big one, and everyone wants to play in it. Everyone is excited for this game, it’s always an incredible atmosphere, and you just can’t wait to get out there after the build-up during the week.
It’s special for the supporters, but you can feel it inside the club as well. It means a lot to everybody, and I think it makes it easier for the players coming back from internationals to face a game like this. We know there is no option but to be completely on it from the very first second. That’s what you want.
We’ve got a few new players this season and I know they are all looking forward to this game too. This rivalry is something you feel when you arrive here. I remember my first derby and people talking about it inside the club. We’ve got people here who have been at the club for a long time and are massive Arsenal fans so they will tell you straight away!
A lot of the players were away for internationals last week, and I was back with Norway to be with my teammates, even though I couldn’t be on the pitch. We had two massive games so for me personally, I wanted to be there. It was unreal to qualify for the World Cup like that. It was unbelievable from start to finish in qualifying. We won all the games, and the way we won them, the amount of goals we scored, and barely conceded – it was solid from start to finish.
It hasn’t always been the case for us to do this well. We’ve failed to qualify a lot of times, and we’ve had a lot of hard moments for the team, so it means a lot. For me personally, I’ve been in the team since 2014 and during that time we haven’t qualified for a major tournament, so to finally get there is huge. It’s one of my biggest dreams to go to a tournament with Norway, and to be able to go to a World Cup with this group of players is an unbelievable feeling.
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I was gutted that I couldn’t play and be a part of it but I obviously wanted to be there to support the team and the players, and also to say thank you to the supporters afterwards, to celebrate with them all. It’s such a special moment. Everyone is so delighted and happy, we felt a lot of positivity and love from the people.
This week I’ve been working really hard on my rehab – it’s going very well. I can feel I’m getting closer every day and getting towards the final stages where it’s a lot more exciting. I’ve been doing some pitch work and training, so I really feel like I’m getting there. That’s the best part of the rehab, when you’re getting closer to joining the team, you can do a lot more on the pitch and you can be more aggressive in the rehab.
I feel like I’m getting stronger and stronger. I can’t wait to be back now, we’re on a good path and it’s looking good. I’m really excited. I guess that’s one of the good things about being injured. You get hungrier and more excited to play football again. That’s the good part of it, I’m desperate to get going again.
Read the rest of Martin’s notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying the Arsenal v Tottenham programme either around the stadium or online, or subscribe to get every edition delivered to your door.
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