Martin Odegaard opened up about his expectations of Atletico Madrid as Arsenal travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
‘A really competitive team’
The Gunners have reached successive semi-finals in the Champions League for the first time in their history, and they face an outfit whom they thrashed 4-0 in the league phase in October. However, the club captain commented positively about their traits, expecting a tough test across 180 minutes.
The attacking midfielder was previously on the books at Real Madrid before making his first big mark in a top five European league in a year-long loan spell at Real Sociedad. The Norwegian knows the strength of Rojiblancos from firsthand experience, especially as their super sub is a compatriot.
“It's a great team. It's a strong team. They are very competitive, and they work with this manager for a long time, and they are really strong team in a great stadium with their fans. They are strong at home, so it's going to be a great battle, and I am just looking forward to it.
“They have always been a really competitive team and always fighting for titles and big games like this. They're always up for it and it's a strong team and they can probably play in more ways now than before. I think the foundation is there for a really competitive team and a strong group. I am looking forward to face that.
*“[**Antoine Griezmann**] is a great player and someone I've watched a lot in the last years and someone I admire a lot. He is a great player and hopefully we can keep in quiet tomorrow, but he's a good player. And it will be good to play against Alexander Sorloth.*
“[Sorloth] has done really well for them, scoring a lot of goals: he's a strong player. Good to see him, but as I said about Griezmann, hopefully we can we can keep him quiet tomorrow as well.”