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 our first home game of the season against Leeds United, Martin reflects on a busy summer on and off the pitch, starting the Premier League campaign with a win, how the new boys have settled and what to expect from the Whites. Here is a snippet:
We started with a really strong result last weekend – for sure the best thing about the day was the scoreline! But we won, showed resilience and it’s never easy to start a season away from home, especially at such a tough place like Old Trafford. They've had a lot of changes, a lot of new players over the summer, so there is a lot of optimism there. That made for a big atmosphere because they were all up for it and determined to start really strong. So for us to go there and get three points was massive.
We got what we wanted and did what we had to do, and it creates a positive start to our season. We know we could have been better in many different ways, but again you saw the desire, you saw the heart and how much we wanted it, even if it wasn’t a pretty win. We dug deep to get the win, and that's also an important quality to have.
For me personally, I feel really strong – physically and mentally. I feel prepared because I had a long pre-season and lots of time to get ready. I played a lot of minutes in pre-season so the match fitness is there as well already. I feel good.
I had a good pre-season, in fact it was a good summer all round. The main thing during my time away was that I got married! That was obviously a big part of my close season, and it was a really special day. Some of my teammates were there, from Arsenal and my national team, together with mine and Helene’s family and friends of course, so it was a good mix of a lot of people. We had such a great time!
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At the end of last season I also played a couple of games with the national team, and we got two really big results. We had a really good camp, we beat Italy then Estonia so we are in a good spot, and it feels like the first time we have started a qualification really well like this. So that was an enjoyable part of the summer too, then I went straight back to work with Arsenal, with two training camps – first in Spain, then to Singapore and Hong Kong, which was a great experience connecting with so many supporters in Asia.
We've had six new players join as well in the summer, and being away like we were really helps people settle in. I already knew Zubi from playing together at Real Sociedad. Then Viktor Gyokeres and Christian Norgaard – I’ve played against them both but I feel like when you're from Scandinavia, you have that little bond already. It all feels very natural.
Then obviously Kepa and Noni I have played against a few times too, so I think the only one I didn’t really know was Cristhian Mosquera. But even though he hasn’t been here long, he has settled really quickly like all of the others, and they are all great lads.
What matters now is getting a positive result against Leeds United today. I know they will be up for it, because they are a big club and they have been out of the Premier League for a couple of years. They are a very popular club in Norway, especially with my dad’s generation, so I know all about them and their history.
We want to make it about us today though, to come back here at Emirates Stadium, and make sure we continue our good start with another win.
Read the rest of Martin's notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying the Arsenal v Leeds United programme either around the stadium oronline, or subscribe to get every editiondelivered to your door.
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