Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard warns Keep Calm and Carry on Winning!
Arsenal’s surprise title bid is gathering pace, but captain fantastic Martin Odegaard warns Keep Calm and Carry on Winning! As the Gunners knock Brighton about to set up a seven-point lead in the Premier League
- Arsenal won 4-2 at Brighton to extend their Premier League lead to seven points
- Captain Martin Odegaard calls on the Gunners to keep calm and keep winning
- He said their campaign has been fuelled by Champions League disappointment
- They missed out on a spot last term, but are looking set to make it for 2023-24
Seconds after Kaoru Mitoma appeared to have made it 4-3 to set up a grandstand finish and before VAR’s intervention, Mikel Arteta stood on the sidelines attempting to cut through the chaos and cranked-up atmosphere to get an urgent message to his players.
He pointed quickly and repeatedly to his head before waving his arms in the air, palms downwards, in an exaggerated call for calm amid the tension and drama of the moment, with Arsenal in danger of seeing the second three-goal lead they had held wiped out.
Defender Gabriel Magalhaes was the target of a similar gesture from Arteta much earlier in the game after Bukayo Saka had given the Gunners the lead 65 seconds in.
Mikel Arteta was anxiously trying to communicate with his players during their win at Brighton
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Sanchez 6; Lamptey 7.5, Dunk 6.5, Colwill 6.5, Estupinan 7; Gilmour 6.5, Gross 6.5; March 6 (Enciso 76min), Lallana 5.5 (Sarmiento 61, 7), Mitoma 8; Trossard 5.5 (Ferguson 60, 7.5).
Scorers: Mitoma 65, Ferguson 77.
Booked: Gilmour, March, Sarmiento.
Manager: Roberto De Zerbi 7.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Ramsdale 7; White 7.5 (Tomiyasu 60, 6), Saliba 7, Gabriel 7.5, Zinchenko 7.5 (Tierney 60, 6.5); Odegaard 9 (Holding 87), Partey 8.5 (Elneny 74, 6), Xhaka 7.5; Saka 7.5, Nketiah 7.5, Martinelli 8.
Scorers: Saka 2, Odegaard 39, Nketiah 47, Martinelli 71.
Booked: Gabriel, Partey, Saka.
Manager: Mikel Arteta 8.
Referee: Anthony Taylor 6.5.
Attendance: 31,647.
So too was another scorer Eddie Nketiah, not long after Brighton had pulled their first goal back to make it 3-1. This is now the remainder of Arsenal’s season in a nutshell.
Supporters are trying their best to remain calm as the prospect of a first Premier League title since 2004 grows. Arteta’s players simply have to.
They are only 16 games into this campaign due to the mid-season World Cup break but what a position Arsenal have got themselves into going into the new year.
One few would have dared to dream of before the first ball of the campaign was kicked.
One that will still be tough to take if it is lost, despite the numerous hurdles ahead and pre-season hopes of simply securing a top-four place for the first time since 2016.
A maturity will be required to retain it — which Arsenal have displayed many a time up to this point this season.
At Brighton, it was in how they ensured they took full advantage of their nearest rivals slipping up to win — at a ground where they have faced difficulties in the past — to go seven points clear. There is now a streetwise side to this Arsenal team too, a reflection of their manager who kicks every ball, challenges almost every decision and makes his presence felt on the sidelines.
Arteta found further encouragement about his side’s progression in their dressing-room reaction, when the post-match focus was on what they could have done better when there was plenty they could instead have been celebrating.
Captain Martin Odegaard said his Gunners side have places to improve during their games
‘The best thing is that we still have a lot to improve, we can still get much better in many areas of the game,’ said captain Martin Odegaard, scorer of Arsenal’s second goal and creator of their fourth for Gabriel Martinelli with one of the passes of the season. ‘That is what we will do to make sure we get better.
‘We don’t focus on that (being seven points clear). We focus on every game to get better and of course we are in a good position and we are really happy to be there. It is our job to keep fighting and keep improving and make sure that we can fight all the way.’
How they did not totally kill off this game and their understrength opponents, even when 3-0 and 4-1 up, is likely to have been part of that dressing-room discussion and a lesson to take forward for Arteta’s men.
Odegaard said the Gunners needed to remain calm and keep winning despite title race lead
‘We made it too exciting at times,’ Odegaard admitted. ‘It is about staying calm and keep doing the same things, keep being us and keep playing football.’
Like with all teams, injuries could derail them while their remaining fixtures are also contributing to a tempering of expectations. In the next six weeks alone, they face Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City.
Arsenal have insulated themselves from some of the threats that lie ahead through the lead they have built up.
But they have also had enough reminders about the dangers of getting ahead of themselves since their last title success.
Eddie Nketiah scored for Arsenal, spurred on by Champions League disappointment
Just last season they let a Champions League place slip through their fingers by losing two of their final three games.
Odegaard said: ‘Missing the Champions League was a big disappointment for us and we said before the season that we were really hungry to come back stronger and better and I think we have done that.
‘We are in a good way and have improved in a lot of areas — with the ball, without the ball, in front of goal, our own box, a lot of things we have improved.’
Lewis Dunk said he had congratulated World Cup winning colleague Alexis Mac Allister
Brighton will improve too when some of their key players return, particularly World Cup-winning midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
Along with Adam Webster, Moises Caicedo and Danny Welbeck, Mac Allister was one of four influential but absent players yet still Brighton managed to give Arsenal a late scare.
‘We have spoken to him and congratulated him,’ captain Lewis Dunk said of the Argentine’s triumph in Qatar. ‘What an achievement. He showed his worth in the World Cup and we’re all buzzing for him and can’t wait to have him back ready to play for us, he brings a lot to the squad.
Dunk featured for the Seagulls as they lost their last home game of 2022 to a resurgent Arsenal
‘He is a humble guy, a down-to-earth kid and a hard worker. It won’t change when he comes back. He will be ready to go again, keep learning off this manager and keep improving.
‘We are showing the work we are doing on the training pitch with all the patterns of play. It is a step but we’ll keep making more steps.
‘We’ve got a long way to go still under this manager and we are enjoying it.’
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