Martin Ødegaard happy with Arsenal’s new duo and says team hungry for title defence
Captain’s praise for new signings Guimarães and Tzolis
Arsenal kick off new season against Coventry on Friday
Martin Ødegaard has praised the instant impact made by new signings Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis in Arsenal’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City on Sunday and believes the Premier League champions can compete for multiple trophies this season.
Arsenal were hugely impressive as they blew away last season’s FA Cup winners in Cardiff, racing into a 3-0 lead after only 48 minutes. Tzolis – a £34m signing from Club Brugge – set up Kai Havertz for the second goal before adding another assist for Ødegaard to make it 3-0 just after half-time. Guimarães was replaced at the break by Declan Rice having put in a commanding performance on his first start since joining from Newcastle for £75m and Ødegaard said the Brazil midfielder has fitted in seamlessly.
“Since the first day he came in, it has been such a natural thing,” said the Norwegian. “Although we had some big fights with him in the past, he has just come into the team as a real natural part of the team. And you can see his quality. He can win the ball, he’s a fighter, but he also has so much quality on the ball. He has that … he is so calm on the ball. He always takes the right amount of time and he finds the pass. It’s brilliant. Christos, as well, it is good to have new players perform like that already.”
Ødegaard started 16 Premier League games last season due to a variety of injuries and scored only one goal. But after finding his form as Norway reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in the summer, the 27-year-old said he is determined to make more of an impact at club level. “Last season, to miss so many games because of injury was really frustrating,” Ødegaard said. “What I have just worked on is to use that as motivation for this year and to become stronger. And to use all of those experiences in a positive way. Obviously, I want to help the team score more goals, get more assists, and all that. It was a good way to start the season.”
Arsenal begin their title defence against promoted Coventry on Friday night and Ødegaard expects his side to lay down a marker for the new campaign after beating City. “We wanted to show our level,” he said of the win over Enzo Maresca’s side. “Of course, last year we won the league. But this year we want more. There is a lot more to play for. We want to do it again in the league and then there are the other trophies. There is a lot to work for and still a lot of room for improvement.”