Martin Odegaard admits Arsenal's title collapse 'will bother me for the rest of my life'
By Sean Walsh
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has admitted that he will always be haunted by their failure to win the 2022/23 Premier League title.
The Gunners finished second in the table to Manchester City, despite leading the standings for 248 days - a record without going on to lift the trophy.
Arsenal finished the season with 84 points - their highest tally since they last won the title, but below what was expected of them given their form for much of the season.
A run of three defeats and one loss in April saw Arsenal not only lose control of their destiny, but display worrying chinks in their armour.
They had led 2-0 away at Liverpool but were pegged back to a 2-2 draw late on, before that same scenario happened a week later at West Ham.
Arsenal then had to score two late goals to salvage a 3-3 draw at home to 20th-placed Southampton, and they were swept aside by Man City 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium in what proved to be a dagger blow to their hopes of becoming champions of England again.
Mikel Arteta's side were thrashed 3-0 at home by Brighton and then beaten 1-0 by relegation-battling Nottingham Forest to compound their misery.
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Speaking to Norwegian legend Jan Aage Fjortoft for Viaplay, Odegaard said their unsuccessful run of games in April proved crucial in the title race and revealed it's a collapse that will stay with him forever.
When asked what went wrong for Arsenal, Odegaard replied: "It's difficult, there are many things that come into play, of course.
"We competed against the team that has won it all, it was tight and even at the end, especially in the three games [that Arsenal drew], we lost momentum. There are so many things that can affect the season, we were close and we must use the disappointment to go closer.
He added: "I think this will bother me for the rest of my life. We were very close, I almost managed to achieve my dream, I think it will be painful for the rest of my life but we have to try again next year, when we manage to do that [win the league] it will surely be easier. "
While Arsenal were unable to wrestle the crown away from Man City, Odegaard enjoyed a superb individual season.
In 37 Premier League games, the Norway skipper scored 15 goals - the first midfielder to reach that tally in the Premier League since Dele Alli in 2016/17 - and laid on eight assists.
"There has been a good season, I have delivered well and scored several goals," Odegaard continued.
"I have been more important to the team, it's been good but of course a tough end to the season which still hurts. So I have mixed feelings."
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On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, part of the 90min podcast network, Harry Symeou discusses Arsenal's hopes of signing Declan Rice ahead of Manchester City, the latest on deals for Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz, Thomas Partey's potential departure and more! If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!