Martin Ødegaard praised Arsenal’s new signings Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis following a 3-0 Community Shield victory over Manchester City in Cardiff on Sunday. The Arsenal captain also reflected on overcoming last season’s injury struggles and outlined the team’s ambitions to defend their Premier League title and chase multiple trophies.
Arsenal Dominates Manchester City in Cardiff
The convincing victory in the Community Shield also marked a measure of revenge, with Arsenal reversing the result of the Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City that Ødegaard had been forced to watch from the sidelines.
The defeat represented a difficult opening for new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca after he replaced Pep Guardiola over the summer. News also emerged that the club accepted a £65.4m bid from Barcelona for Spain midfielder Rodri. Addressing the rough start, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias told TNT Sports: It is the beginning of the season, it is not good enough.
“It’s part of any transition for things to be not so perfect in the beginning. You need to push through, you need to communicate, and make things work between us.”
Defender Ruben Dias, via Yahoo
New Signings Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis Make Instant Impact
Arsenal’s summer reinforcements wasted no time showing their worth on Sunday. Christos Tzolis, a £34m signing from Club Brugge, set up Kai Havertz for Arsenal’s second goal before delivering another assist for Ødegaard to net the third just after half-time.
Meanwhile, Bruno Guimarães put in a commanding performance on his first start since joining from Newcastle for £75m, before being replaced at halftime by Declan Rice. Ødegaard noted that the Brazil midfielder has integrated seamlessly into the squad despite past on-pitch clashes.
“Since the first day he came in, it has been such a natural thing. Although we had some big fights with him in the past, he has just come into the team as a real natural part of the team. And you can see his quality. He can win the ball, he’s a fighter, but he also has so much quality on the ball. He has that … he is so calm on the ball. He always takes the right amount of time and he finds the pass. It’s brilliant. Christos, as well, it is good to have new players perform like that already.”
Martin Ødegaard, via The Guardian
Martin Ødegaard Channels Injury Frustration Into Title Defense Motivation
For Ødegaard, the strong start follows a deeply testing individual campaign. The 27-year-old midfielder lifted the Premier League trophy in May—marking his first piece of silverware since joining Arsenal in 2021—but his season was severely disrupted by knee, shoulder, and muscle problems that restricted him to just 16 Premier League starts.
“Last year was really a big struggle with a lot of difficult moments. It is the worst thing for a footballer to not be able to be on the pitch and I had quite a lot of weird injuries, and bad luck.”
Why BRUNO is great for Arsenal I Martin Odegaard
Martin Ødegaard, via Yahoo
Having rediscovered his rhythm during Norway’s run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup over the summer, Ødegaard is channeling those setbacks as fuel for the new campaign. He aims to contribute significantly more goals and assists while steering Arsenal through a demanding fixture list.
“Last season, to miss so many games because of injury was really frustrating. What I have just worked on is to use that as motivation for this year and to come back stronger.”
Looking Ahead to the Premier League Opener Against Coventry
With the Community Shield silverware secured, Arsenal turns its immediate attention to the start of the domestic league calendar. The Gunners begin their title defence against promoted Coventry on Friday night.
Photo: Yahoo
Ødegaard emphasized that the club’s ambitions stretch well beyond defending their domestic crown as they target multiple pieces of silverware in the coming months.
“Of course, last year we won the league, but this year we want more. We want to do it again in the league and then there are the other trophies. There is a lot to work for and still a lot of room for improvement.”
Martin Ødegaard, via The Guardian
The captain believes that focusing on these goals will drive the squad to reach its full potential as they strive for further success this season.
