Odegaard admits Arsenal were ‘stupid’ against West Ham but says title race is ‘still in their hands’

Harry Watkinson 16 Apr 2023 10:05 PM

Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard has insisted that the title race is still in the Gunners’ hands, despite dropping two points against West Ham United on Sunday.

The attacking midfielder netted his 11th goal against the Hammers but his team ultimately missed out on the chance to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Now, second-placed Manchester City are poised to mount their own title charge, with one game in hand and still yet to play Arsenal at the Etihad.

Indeed, several pundits have speculated that Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with West Ham now makes Man City the favourites to lift yet another Premier League title.

A frustrated Arteta also admitted following the game that his side ‘lost purpose’ despite being in ‘total control’ at the beginning of the clash.

The result makes it four dropped points in two games for Arsenal after drawing 2-2 with Liverpool in their previous fixture – and this blip could, indeed, end up costing them the title.

Odegaard: ‘We gave them the game they wanted’

Following the disappointing result, Odegaard remained fairly positive about Arsenal’s title chances, and outlined what went wrong in the game.

“There was a lot of the same things to last week, started well but then we stopped, allowed them to play on their qualities,” Odegaard told Sky Sports.

“We gave them the game they wanted, we gave them hope, and that’s on us. We have to look forward now.

“Plus, we started to do a lot of stupid things on the ball, we allowed them to play on the long balls.

“We have to remember we are still top of the league with everything in our own hands,” he added on the title race.

“Now, we need to have the same mindset, same mentality to make sure we win the next one.”

Arsenal have seven Premier League games remaining and, indeed, if they win all of them – they will be Premier League champions for the first time since 2004.

Their matches come against Southampton, Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves – so by no means do they have an easy run.

Man City, on the other hand, have to play eight more games, versus Arsenal, Fulham, West Ham, Leeds, Everton, Chelsea and Brentford.

On paper, Pep Guardiola’s side arguably have an easier run-in. However, they still have the FA Cup and the ever-elusive Champions League to play for.

With that in mind, we are set for a barnstorming end to the season, with the match between the two title contenders on the 26th of April set to be a monumental fixture.

Arsenal Martin Odegaard