Martin Odegaard credits Arsenal’s warm weather training camp in Dubai as the turning point in their season.
The Gunners head into Sunday’s Premier League finale knowing that they could win their first domestic title in 20 years if they beat Everton and Manchester City slip up against West Ham.
Mikel Arteta’s men fell away in the title race last season but have been in imperious form since making the most of their mid-season break with a trip to Dubai. And Odegaard admits that period at the turn of the year was a crucial one in Arsenal’s campaign.
“People brought their families and we came together and we got closer to each other. We had some time away and time off and it helped, we came back stronger and more together as a group as well, we’re just so together we’re a family and we love fighting for each other, we love playing together and we love to push each other every day. That pays off in the end.”
Mirror Football outlined back in March how Arteta had invited players’ family members on the trip as he sought to get fresh ideas across to a team which had begun to falter.
The new shirt has returned the Gunners to their roots placing a stripped-down, elegant-looking canon right over the heart of the new shirt. Shirt manufacturers Adidas have produced a “clean and minimal” and the design “embraces modernity, while honouring Arsenal’s rich heritage.
Despite their incredible run, Arsenal’s destiny is not in their own hands this weekend. But regardless what happens on Sunday, Odegaard is convinced that major honours will come in the wake of the club’s progress in recent years.
He added: “As you say, and as I said, we’ve had a good season, but I know that if we don’t win that league, no one’s going to be happy in this building and we’re going to come back even stronger and push again to do it.
