Martin Odegaard has openly acknowledged his dip in form this season, admitting he doesn't need anyone to point out that he's "not been good enough" The Arsenal skipper, who has been instrumental in the Gunners' title pursuits in previous seasons, conceded that he hasn't met his own high standards recently. His lack of goals and assists has been a talking point for Sky pundit Paul Merson, who remarked that the Norwegian midfielder is "nowhere near" where he should be.
Odegaard's tally stands at a mere two Premier League goals this campaign, a stark contrast to the eight and 15 he netted in the last two seasons, respectively. His assist count has also dropped, only reaching three compared to last year's double figures.
This downturn in productivity is seen as a key reason behind Arsenal lagging behind Liverpool in the title race. Nonetheless, Odegaard remains resolute in his quest to recapture top form and isn't ready to concede the chase to Liverpool just yet.
After showing signs of his peak abilities in Arsenal's emphatic 7-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven, Odegaard and his team are eager to translate that performance into their upcoming clash with Manchester United on Sunday. Reflecting on his situation, Odegaard stated: "I'm very used to people speaking about me, judging my performances and I think I do the myself. I'm harder on myself and I know that I have not been good enough especially in front of goal so that's normal.
"I work hard every day to improve it and I know I have the ability and the talent to do it. PSV Eindhoven was good and hopefully now I can do more towards the end of the season.
"There's always more to play for at the end of the season but every game in this league is so important from the start to the end.
"Hopefully we can - like last year - hit the top form towards the end and then we'll see where that takes us in the league and also in the Champions League."
With Arsenal's striking options limited due to injuries, Odegaard acknowledges the need for players to share the goal-scoring burden. The absence of key forwards such as Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli has been felt, but Odegaard is determined to "step up" in their stead, as evidenced by his recent performance with two goals and an assist against PSV.
He hopes to replicate the collective effort seen in the previous season's final stretch.
Odegaard commented: "I think that's key. With the players we have out as well, the rest of us as players have to step up even more and I think it's a good thing we can share the goals and hopefully we can keep doing that."
The Norway captain also refuses to concede the title chase to Liverpool, drawing on lessons from the past two seasons where Arsenal led the race only to relinquish substantial leads. His fighting spirit remains undeterred: "We'll fight until the end. That's the mindset of everyone. We've been fighting three years in a row for the title and you go a couple of years back then we were leading with a lot of points and then we finished second.
"It shows that everything is possible and the main thing is to keep going, keep working hard and day-by-day get better in the games and then we'll see."
"We've put ourselves in a difficult position at the moment but we have to keep going, we have to try to win every time we play and then we'll see what happens with Liverpool."
Despite Arsenal's recent victory over Manchester United in the Premier League, they faced disappointment as they were ousted from the FA Cup after a penalty shootout. Odegaard, who missed a crucial penalty during regular time, acknowledged the threat posed by United, especially at Old Trafford, under the guidance of Ruben Amorim.
He cautioned: "They're not where they want to be in the table and it's a big club which has struggled a little bit but, as I said before, we know the quality they have when they're really on it and they have a lot of good individual players that we have to be ready for.
"It's always tough when you play them. I don't think they are where they want to be in the table but we know the quality they have when they play at their best. They have a lot of individual quality and when they play as a team, it's challenging to play them.
"It's a big challenge for us and we have to take the good feelings now from this game and what we did - especially going forward - into the next game and hopefully do more of that."