Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard has now opened up about one thing that’s giving his teammates a boost ahead of their meeting with Aston Villa.
Arsenal are set welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates Stadium this afternoon for a Premier League clash.
A win would put the Gunners back in pole position in the Premier League table, after Manchester City’s victory over Luton Town on Saturday saw them leapfrog the North London club.
At this stage in the campaign, with the title race between Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City so tight, there is enormous pressure on every fixture. Every game is of huge importance, and this encounter with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side is no different.
Mikel Arteta will see this as a must-win game. Jamie Carragher has set Arsenal a points target in their mission to be crowned champions. If the Gunners are to reach that target and win the league then they have to be practically perfect between now and the end of the campaign. There is almost no margin for error.
With so much on the line, it is vital that Arsenal find a way to cope with the pressure and intensity of the situation. They must learn from the painful lessons of last season, when their title bid collapsed during the run-in.
The scale of the prize on the line should also provide plenty of motivation to perform, too. However, Martin Odegaard has now stated that there will be one other thing driving him and his teammates on in this match.
Martin Odegaard reveals Arsenal motivation for Aston Villa clash
As quoted by the club’s official website, the Norwegian playmaker said, “we have painful memories of our game away to Aston Villa earlier this season, because we feel we deserved much more than we got. I think we played a pretty good game there, but without getting anything. We know we can definitely build on that to get the result today, and use that game as an extra motivation for us.”
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 at Villa Park back in December, as a John McGinn goal sank the visitors on that occasion.
How Mikel Arteta will prepare for Arsenal v Aston Villa
Arteta’s men must get revenge on the Midlands outfit this time around. However, the Spanish coach also needs to find a winning formula in this game, with half an eye on keeping his squad fit and fresh for Wednesday evening’s trip to Germany, when Arsenal will contest the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich.
Arteta may try to rest and rotate some of his key players for the visit of Aston Villa. However, he has been warned that Emery may well be keen to see Jakub Kiwior keep his place in the Arsenal XI after his difficult outing against Bayern Munich.
READ MORE: Every word from Mikel Arteta’s pre-Aston Villa press conference