It’s been over five years since a fresh-faced Martin Odegaard joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid. At the time, the Gunners were languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, only just beginning to drag themselves out of the rut created by an awful run of pre-Christmas form.
The stands were empty because of Covid restrictions, David Luiz was partnering Rob Holding in central defence, teenager Emile Smith Rowe had just been installed as the engine of the team, and Mikel Arteta, despite his FA Cup success, was clinging to his job. The Bernabeu, it was not.
“It seems like a great project, a great club,” [said Odegaard on his arrival.](https://www.arsenal.com/news/martin-odegaard-joins-arsenal-loan)
“I’m just so excited at the chance to come here; it was a really good chance to take.
“Every time you go to a new place, you want to make sure that it feels good, and that there is a plan. I think everything here just seems good.”
Even with Odegaard providing a much-needed spark in midfield, Arsenal laboured to an eighth-place finish in the 2020/21 campaign, finishing behind Leicester, West Ham and Sp\*rs, as well as the traditional heavyweights. In doing so, the club missed out on European qualification for the first time since the mid-90s. It was a horrible season.
And despite all that, Odegaard came back for more, signing a permanent deal in August that cost the Gunners £30 million plus add-ons.
Why the trip down memory lane? Well, it serves as context for comments he made in [yesterday’s press conference](https://youtu.be/nYiQ6dTI5wg?si=e5X3_n3a49xxjwx2) ahead of the club’s second consecutive Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal have come a long way in a short space of time, with Odegaard experiencing the highs and lows of that journey. From the outside, the lack of silverware during the Norwegian’s tenure may look like failure, but progressing from mid-table to one of Europe’s most competitive sides while challenging for the domestic title year after year must feel like anything but.
There has been a plan. The project has indeed been great. And he has been its figurehead on the pitch, elevated to the captaincy in double-quick time.
With that in mind, you can understand why he found it so easy to brush aside questions about whether he is able to enjoy football at the moment given the pressure that comes with heightened expectations.
“I think we’re playing in probably the toughest and most competitive league in the world, and we’re at the top, fighting for the title. We’re in the semi-final of the Champions League.
“For me, it’s hard to understand how you can not enjoy that. That’s what we’ve been dreaming about our whole life, since I was a kid.
“These are the moments we’ve been dreaming about. For me, that’s quite easy. This is the best part of the season. Everyone is ready for it, everyone is up for it. The energy in the group is amazing. We’re ready for it.”
In a season that has been stop-start because of injuries, the satisfaction of being on the pitch must be all the more welcome. While many still question whether Odegaard will return to his fluid best, when he is in the side, it is obvious that what he offers goes beyond technique.
He is the manager’s brain on the pitch, the one who understands the press better than anyone else, the one most aware of the mood in the crowd, hence the eagerness to play cheerleader when a teammate makes an error. There is a maturity to Odegaard now, the cherub cheeks replaced by a chiselled face that has weathered plenty, shaped by disappointments and near-misses.
On those near-misses, he said: “It’s always going to be there until we win, and that’s something you have to live with. We need to take all those experiences and the lessons and use it in a good way – that’s a part of football, that’s a part of the journey. We have to live in the moment.
“At the moment, we’re doing really well. We’re in an amazing position in the league and in the Champions League. That’s what we have to focus on, to just look at it every single day, every single game. How we can be at our best, and then we’ll see what happens.”
All going to plan, this current Arsenal side will, over the course of seven possible games, become club legends by ending a 22-year wait for a league title and winning the Champions League for the first time.
“It’s massive for all of us,” said Odegaard of the opportunity laid out before the team. “We’re in a great position to make history. That’s what we want to do.
“I’ve been at this club for a while now. I’ve seen the progression since I first came, how much we’ve improved, and the steps we’ve taken.
“It’s been amazing to be a part of that. We want to take that last step and do something really big. That’s the biggest goal, the biggest dream. That’s what we’re all working towards every single day.”
Odegaard has lived the rebuild from its uncertain beginnings to its current position on the brink of something significant.
That perspective perhaps explains the calmness in his words. Arsenal know how far they have come, but they also know none of it will feel complete without silverware.