Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard is “proud” of his team despite their failure to win the Champions League title.
Misses from Eberechi Eze and Gabriel cost Arsenal in the shootout whilst Nuno Mendes missed PSG’s third spot-kick, yet the reigning champions defended their title as Lucas Beraldo dispatched their winning penalty.
Odegaard post-match reflected on the positive of their impressive overall season which saw them end a 22-year wait for a fourth Premier League title, but warned that time will be needed to digest the manner of their defeat.
“It’s painful at the moment, but when you look at the bigger picture, we’ve had an incredible season,” he said. “We won the league for the first time in 22 years, and of course, being this close today as well.
“We need to take our time in order to get over this loss. The season’s been amazing in a lot of different ways, we just couldn’t quite do the double, but we have to be proud of our performance.”
Odegaard also has urged his teammates to use the defeat as a fresh platform to improve upon next season.
“We’ve done some incredible things and we had a great run in the Champions League as well. We just have to use the feeling that we have now and also the positive feelings we have from this season to reflect on all of it, and make sure we come back even stronger in the next season. There are lots of good things to take and some things for sure in Europe as well.”
Odegaard and his teammates are back in North London today (31 May) for their Premier League title parade, which the Norway international believes is a deserving moment despite having not done the double.
“We have to celebrate the title with our supporters – they deserve that,” he added. “I think we deserve that. We’ve done something incredible together and of course, it would have been even better with the double.
“But still, it’s an incredible achievement and we’re looking forward to seeing all our supporters tomorrow.”