Ødegaard on title race: Arsenal can't get emotional

Martin Ødegaard has said Arsenal players must not let their emotions get the better of them going into the final day of the Premier League season, where they will have a chance to end their 20-year drought for a league title.

Arsenal are two points behind leaders Manchester City going into Sunday’s final round of fixtures. The north London side must win to stay in contention, while City could lift their fourth title in a row if they beat West Ham United.

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Arsenal’s hopes of ending their 20-year wait for the league title dwindled after City’s 2-0 win at Tottenham on Tuesday put Pep Guardiola’s side at an advantage.

“We spoke about it the day after [City went ahead],” Ødegaard told TNT Sports. “We have to focus on ourselves, we can’t get too emotional about it.

“We have one more game, at home, it’s the last game of the season and our goal and our task is clear, we have to win that.

“We’ll see what happens. That’s our mindset now, win that last game, give the fans a good last game and we’ll see. It’s out of our control, we just focus on our game.”

Arsenal finished second in the 2022-2023 season, five points behind City. But, Ødegaard believes they have pushed on since then.

“We’ve taken good steps and I feel like we’re a much better team compared to last season,” he said.

“We’ve had some really good games, some good results, and we are now there until the last day, to push for it.”

Arsenal last won the league title under manager Arsène Wenger in their 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ season when they went the entire campaign unbeaten.

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Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny announced on Friday that he will be leaving the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Elneny, who is the longest-serving player in the Arsenal squad, has made 161 appearances across his nearly nine year spell at the club.

“I’m here today to send you a message, to say goodbye and thank you for everything you’ve done for me, your love, the support and the kindness,” he said in a post on social media.

“I’m really going to miss you so much, you will be in my heart forever. I wanted to say how much I love you and how much you mean to me and I will never forget the way you supported me.

“I’m going to see you on Sunday at Emirates Stadium to say goodbye face to face. See you, Gunners.”