Martin Odegaard opened up about what the ambitions of **Arsenal**mean to him.
‘I've seen the progression every year’
The Gunners have now reached the final of the Champions League for the first time since 2006, and the club captain came on for Eberechi Eze to help hold onto a 9th clean sheet in 14 continental clashes this campaign. Defensive discipline has been the standout feature from this side in the last two years, and Odegaard has seen the journey to this point as an experience that deserves this sort of outcome.
“This is the best part of the season to be involved in, it doesn’t get bigger than playing a Champions League semi-final at home. As footballers, we dream about these moments our whole life. You want to taste it and experience it, so when you do get that opportunity, you have to give absolutely everything.
*“We had mixed feelings after the first leg out in Madrid [at the **Riyadh Air Metropolitano*], because we felt we could have won that game. That’s what we went there to do, and I think we had a good chance to do that in the end, especially when you consider the penalty situation late in the game.
“The atmosphere out in Madrid was really loud, it’s a great stadium to play in, and we handled the occasion really well. They are a strong opponent and everyone in the stadium was fired up for the game, but for us there are a lot of positives we can take from how we played against them last week.
“We all have full belief in what we are doing, and the energy in the group is great. We’ve put ourselves in this position through a lot of work all season, so now we want to go and make history.
“I've been at Arsenal for a while now and I've seen the progression every year since I first came. The steps we’ve taken have got us here, and it’s been amazing to be a part of that.
"We want to take another step now and do something really big. That's the biggest goal, the biggest dream. That's what we're working towards every single day. I feel like we're stronger now as a group than we’ve ever been. "