Martin Odegaard believes Arsenal are “on another level” this season after winning the Premier League title gave Mikel Arteta’s side a new level of confidence.
Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.
Odegaard scored the decisive goal, his fourth goal in five appearances this season, after the visitors had fluffed a number of chances.
Arsenal, who also reached last season’s Champions League final, have won all five of their games this season, while all 10 of their goals have come from open play. Odegaard was named player of the match in Naples after continuing his impressive start to the campaign.
Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring Arsenal’s goal against Napoli. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
“I think we feel different. I think we feel a lot stronger this year and I’ve said it many times,” Odegaard told CBS Sports. “I said it also after the season when we finished second, you got to learn from it. You got to take the experiences.
“And of course it’s the same when you win and it’s a different experience. It gives you different kind of confidence. And I can feel that now in the whole team– we play with a different confidence and I feel like we’re on another level this season.
“So yeah, I think it made us a lot stronger and I feel like the team is just growing and growing and we’re getting better and the hunger is there. So that’s great to see after winning that we want to do it again and we want more.”
Odegaard struggled with injury last season but played a key role during Arsenal’s title run-in, before carrying his form into the World Cup and the start of the new season.
“I think the main change is I’m on the pitch and I feel good and I feel fit,” the Norwegian said. “As I said, I think last season was a big struggle. I had a lot of injuries, a lot of bad luck, couldn’t really find the rhythm.
“You’re out for a while, then you come back in and then maybe you need a few games to get really sharp. But then I had another incident, a lot of situations like this, and sometimes you play when you’re not feeling 100%.
“So it was hard, but now I feel good. Obviously winning the league here last season and then going into the World Cup felt really good in the World Cup, had a good tournament there and then now took it into the new season. So I’m really happy.”
