Martin Odegaard has revealed his gratitude to Mikel Arteta after being confirmed as ArsenalThe club’s new permanent captain.
The Norwegian international was initially loaned to Arsenal for six months Real Madrid before a permanent deal was struck 12 months ago at Arteta’s insistence.
Odegaard has grown in status and importance over the past period and has worn the bracelet several times over the past period preseason tour of America.
The 23-year-old skipper captained his team on Saturday as Arsenal continued their fine recent form with a crushing 6-0 win over Sevilla to claim the Emirates Cup and then Odegaard outlined his desire to repay Arteta’s last vote of confidence.
“Of course I was happy, proud and grateful for the trust and for wanting me to be captain,” he said.
“That’s a big achievement for me and it’s nice to be part of such a good team, so I’m going to enjoy that.
“It’s important that we all take leadership, it’s not just about me or a few people, but I think everyone should take leadership and do what’s best for the team, so everyone should do that.”
Arsenal kick off the new Premier League season against Crystal Palace on Friday at Selhurst Park and Odegaard insists his side face an awkward-looking game in a justifiably confident mood.
He said: ‘I think the confidence is clearly high. We’ve played some good games, we’ve beaten two good teams lately and we’re playing well.
“So of course we have a good feeling, but we have to stay calm, stay humble and keep working hard.
“We know it won’t be easy, so we have to keep working hard and always be on our guard.
“That’s what it’s all about, pushing every day.
“We’ve been waiting for that for a while (the Palace game). We’re looking forward to starting again, it’s always nice to play important games again, so it’s going to be nice and hopefully we can get off to a good start.”
LAKE : “They’re not a threat!” Roy Keane fires Arsenal despite signing Gabriel Jesus
LAKE : Sir Alex Ferguson jokes ‘Arsenal downgrades’ with legendary jockey Frankie Dettori
For more stories like this, check our sports page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news about
facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
