Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has spoken with confidence and belief ahead of tonight’s Carabao Cup clash against Brighton & Hove Albion, saying the Gunners are ready to take the competition seriously as another chance to win silverware this season. This comes after Softfootball reported that Bukayo Saka revealed that now is Arsenal’s time to win the league.
Writing in his captain’s notes for the Emirates Stadium programme as revealed by Arsenal via their official X account, Ødegaard talked about the importance of squad depth and how the team’s spirit has been one of their biggest strengths this campaign, this sentiment was shared by Softfootball in the pre-game report, with Arsenal expected to enjoy a narrow victory against Brighton.
They posted:
With Arsenal in fine form across both the Premier League and Europe, the Norwegian midfielder pointed out that one thing that’s stood out is how goals have been coming from everywhere. After Eberechi Eze, fondly called “Ebs” by his teammates, scored in Sunday’s narrow 1-nil win over Crystal Palace, Ødegaard couldn’t help but praise the English star’s calm finish.
He revealed:
Ebs got his goal on Sunday, and that was almost meant to be, wasn’t it? It was a great finish, and he showed really good technique to get over the ball properly and finish that well. I think it was a big moment for him, and we were all really pleased for him. We know he’s the type of player who brings goals and assists in crucial moments.
I saw as well that he’s our 11th different scorer in the league this season, and that’s exactly what you want throughout the season. It’s a real strength of ours. When you look at our team, you see goals everywhere; everyone is able to contribute and take responsibility. To be fair I think we’ve seen that over the past few seasons as well that we can share the goals around the squad.
We want to keep that going, of course, and tonight’s match could be another chance for people to step up and take their opportunity.
With three tough away matches before the November break, the Carabao Cup gives other players a good stage to impress and Odegaard is confident that Aresnal have the squad depth to go all the way and achive great things this season.
He said:
We are determined to do well in every single competition this season, and tonight that means the Carabao Cup. This competition can progress really quickly, if we win tonight we will be in the quarter-finals and suddenly you can see the end of the tournament approaching.
That’s a huge motivation for us going into the game. Everyone knows that we want to win trophies, and how important that is for us. This competition is the first chance to do that this season. It’s great that we have lots of players desperate to be out there playing. The level in training is really good right now, and there is a great energy at the training ground, but nothing replaces the matches.
We have a bigger squad now and a lot of players competing, so I’m sure everyone will be ready if they are called tonight. Everyone deserves to play, and we are all together, wanting to keep this good run going.
Though Ødegaard is still recovering from his minor injury spending time on the anti-gravity treadmill at the Sobha facility—he says he’s improving well. He also spoke about his goal to help Norway qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with key qualifiers coming soon.
As Arsenal look to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, Ødegaard’s message stays simple but powerful: every competition matters, and everyone’s role counts.
