Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed the impact made by captain Martin Odegaard following his return from injury and said the Norwegian can take the team to a “different level”.
Odegaard missed two months earlier in the season with an ankle problem sustained on international duty but his comeback has prompted an improved run of form for the Gunners.
A hard-fought 1-1 draw at Chelsea has been followed by successive wins – against Nottingham Forest in the league and Sporting CP in the Champions League – and Arteta is enjoying having the former Real Madrid midfielder back in the fold.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to West Ham, he said: “With the way he prepares himself and how much work he put in with the physios and medical department to get in the best possible condition to face the period and importance of the season that we are in and to hit the ground running…he has been exceptional since the Chelsea game and he has been very consistent the last three games.
“Good players that are so consistent and so reliable can take the game to a different level and make the players better around them, that’s a huge quality of Martin’s and he has been missed.”
If you could swap positions for one game only? 🤔
The Gunners answer today’s QOTD! pic.twitter.com/HOylAzh35P
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 28, 2024
📰 Table Of Contents
Winning lifts the energy – Arteta
Arsenal appear back on track after a slight wobble in form while Odegaard was out and they were hugely impressive in beating Sporting 5-1 in Lisbon in midweek.
They are nine points off Premier League leaders Liverpool but seemingly heading in the right direction.
Arteta added: “Winning lifts the energy and the confidence up. They were two big wins for us and now it’s about consistency and getting that momentum and taking it even further against a really good opponent tomorrow.
“It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday, it’s about the next day and the next performance and how you are able to sustain high levels of performance because of how competitive every opponent is and that is what we will try and do tomorrow.”
London calling
Arteta was giving little away regarding injuries but did concede “a few” players weren’t able to train yesterday.
He will be able to give them until the last minute given there is little travel involved as Arsenal make the short trip from north to east London. Indeed, by a strange quirk of the fixture list, 12 of the Gunners’ next 13 games are in the capital.
Arteta said: “Less travelling is always better. It is crazy that we have that many games so close to us and I think it helps because the amount of games we have to play in that period is very high as well.”
