Martin Odegaard says that Arsenal need to “fight every single day” for the Premier League title after returning to the top of the table on Saturday.
The Gunners secured a narrow win over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium thanks to a stunning finish from outside the box by Eberechi Eze.
The result sends Arsenal back into first place ahead of Manchester City, who did not play in the league this weekend as they faced and defeated Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“It was tough, very intense, very physical,” Odegaard told Sky Sports. “We did everything we could and we got the win, the most important thing was to bounce back with a win and get over the line with the three points.”
Arsenal have become known for packing the six-yard box on corners, but they instead tried a new short routine involving Odegaard to catch Newcastle off guard. They had two failed attempts before succeeding with the third as Kai Havertz found Eze in acres of space on the edge of the area.
“We practice it all,” the captain said. “That’s our quality. We can score in many different ways. We did it brilliant today.
“I think the stadium was a bit annoyed that we took it short again but it paid off in the end and it was a great finish.”
Odegaard vows to ‘fight every day’ as Arsenal go top again
Asked about the physical demands of the run-in with a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on the horizon, Odegaard responded: “This schedule is crazy. We just have to keep going. It is the end of the season, just leave everything out that we have inside, fight every single game and we just have to keep going.
“That’s where we want to be but it is going to go all the way to the end. We are ready for it and we will fight every single day.”
