Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard has urged his team-mates to quickly move past their disappointing defeat at the hands of West Ham, which has put a dent in their Premier League title hopes.
The Gunners were unable to close the gap on Liverpool after Jarrod Bowen netted the decisive goal just before half-time at the Emirates Stadium. With the loss leaving Arsenal trailing by eight points, and with Liverpool having the opportunity to widen that gap to 11 points if they triumph over Manchester City, the pressure is mounting.
Despite the setback and a performance that Mikel Arteta criticised for not meeting the high standards needed to clinch the club’s first title in 21 years, Odegaard emphasised the importance of resilience. Speaking after the game, he said: “It’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves.
“We have to keep going. There are still many games to be played. The main thing now is to win the next one and work from there. We’re really disappointed. It felt like we had a good chance against West Ham but the overall performance wasn’t good enough.
“We put a lot of pressure on them, but we lacked a bit of efficiency in the final third, the final pass, the final cross and we should have been sharper and better around the box. We missed that and that’s a big blow for everyone. But we move on and we have to strike back in the next one straight away.”
Arsenal’s season continues to be marred by injuries, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus ruled out for the rest of the campaign. To add to their woes, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are also presently out of action.
Despite this, Ben White’s return as a substitute in the second half – his first showing since the 1-1 stalemate with Chelsea on November 10 – offered some relief amidst the tough times. “It’s great to have Ben back,” said Odegaard.
“He’s been out for a while and you could see straight away the quality he brings. That was the good news, but at the moment we’re disappointed.”
