Ødegaard Says Arsenal Are Playing With a New Level of Confidence

Martin Ødegaard says Arsenal are playing with a new level of belief this season, crediting last year's Premier League title win for giving the squad extra confidence.

The Arsenal captain scored the only goal as his side beat Napoli 1-0 in their Champions League opener at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday. Ødegaard struck from just outside the box in the 75th minute, his fourth goal in five games this season, after Arsenal had missed several earlier chances.

The win kept Arsenal perfect through five games this season. All 10 of their goals so far have come from open play. Ødegaard was named player of the match after another strong showing.

Speaking to CBS Sports, Ødegaard said the title win last season changed the mood around the squad. "I think we feel different. I think we feel a lot stronger this year and I've said it many times," he said. "I said it also after the season when we finished second, you got to learn from it. You got to take the experiences."

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He said winning has brought a different mindset to the group. "And of course it's the same when you win and it's a different experience. It gives you different kind of confidence. And I can feel that now in the whole team, we play with a different confidence and I feel like we're on another level this season."

Ødegaard added that the belief is pushing the team to keep improving. "So yeah, I think it made us a lot stronger and I feel like the team is just growing and growing and we're getting better and the hunger is there. So that's great to see after winning that we want to do it again and we want more."

The Norwegian struggled with injuries for much of last season but returned to form in time to help Arsenal over the line in the title race. He carried that form into the World Cup and now into the new campaign.

"I think the main change is I'm on the pitch and I feel good and I feel fit," he said. "As I said, I think last season was a big struggle. I had a lot of injuries, a lot of bad luck, couldn't really find the rhythm. You're out for a while, then you come back in and then maybe you need a few games to get really sharp. But then I had another incident, a lot of situations like this, and sometimes you play when you're not feeling 100%."

He said things have finally turned a corner. "So it was hard, but now I feel good. Obviously winning the league here last season and then going into the World Cup felt really good in the World Cup, had a good tournament there and then now took it into the new season. So I'm really happy."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pointed to his squad's depth as a big factor in the win, noting how thin his attacking options were last season by comparison. "As I said many times last year, that's where we missed so many attacking players that now they are playing their feet and they're all available to play," he said.

He also praised his players for handling a difficult atmosphere in Naples. "I'm really pleased just to talk about what we've done today on the pitch against a great opponent in a really difficult context and environment here in the stadium. And we show such a personality and quality today to win the game."