Martin Odegaard said Arsenal must stay focused and bounce back after defeat to Manchester City tightened the Premier League title race.
Martin Ødegaard said Arsenal have to recover quickly from their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, with the captain insisting there was enough in the performance to show the team can still respond strongly in the closing weeks of the season.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Ødegaard said Arsenal were frustrated to leave the Etihad empty-handed after a game in which they had created enough moments to believe they could take something. Defeat cut Arsenal’s lead at the top and handed fresh momentum to City, who can now draw level if they win their game in hand.
“Yeah, no, I was disappointed not to win,” Ødegaard said. “Obviously we wanted to come here and get a result. And I thought we were really up for it today. We played a good game.”
Arsenal had responded quickly to going behind, with Kai Havertz cancelling out Rayan Cherki’s opener, and Ødegaard felt the visitors had caused City real problems, particularly with their pressing. He pointed to that side of the display as one of the main positives to take from the afternoon.
“I thought we pressed them really well,” he said. “We had some really good moments there on the high press and then especially second half, we looked a lot more dangerous.”
The key issue, in his view, was what Arsenal did with their chances. Odegaard said the match was decided by fine margins, a theme that matched the way the game unfolded after the break, when Arsenal had opportunities without finding a second goal.
“We had a few big, big moments there in front of goals,” he said. “So, yeah, small margins, you know, to decide a game like this and yeah, we weren’t sharp enough in front of the goals and yeah, that’s why we go home with nothing.”
That left him frustrated, but not downbeat about the wider picture. Ødegaard described it as “a decent performance” overall and suggested Arsenal’s task now is to learn from the defeat rather than dwell on it. With only a handful of league games remaining, the emphasis in his interview was on reaction rather than regret.
He also revealed that his own involvement had been uncertain before kick-off. After returning to the side for such a significant game, Ødegaard admitted it had been “a tight call”, but said he felt well enough during the match and hopes to stay available through the run-in.
“Yeah, I know it was a tight call,” he said. “But yeah, I felt okay in the game. I was a bit tired in the end but it was good to be back and yeah, hopefully I can keep being with the team now until the end.”
Ødegaard was also asked about the noise that will now surround Arsenal after a defeat in such a high-profile title-race fixture. His answer was to downplay it. Explaining pressure and outside reaction are simply part of football at this level, and that Arsenal’s focus will remain on themselves.
“There’s always pressure, always noise,” he said. “We’re just going to keep going, stay focused on ourselves like we’ve done the whole season.”
The final message was brief but important. Asked whether he still believes, Ødegaard’s answer was immediate: “Of course.” For Arsenal, that now has to be shown in the next game rather than said after this one.