Ødegaard's direct message to Real Madrid: "I've found peace at Arsenal..."

Martin Ødegaard's Arsenal are one of four Premier League clubs battling for the fourth Champions League place. The Gunners, and the Norwegian playmaker, are hitting form just when it counts. He spoke about life in London as well as his beginnings with Real Madrid in an interview with Norwegian media this weekend.

"I feel that I'm hitting form. It's always difficult to compare your current form with what you did before, but I feel as though I am training at a good level every day," Ødegaard told TV 2. "I feel as though I am important for the team once again. I have found my position and the ability to connect with the players around me. I'm improving all the time".

Comparison with Özil: "I'm not too keen on comparing myself to other players, but I take it as a great accomplishment. He was a player who I really admired. He was one of my favourites when I was younger".

Being the team's leader: "I've been through a lot even though I'm still young. I went abroad when I was very young and have been through lots of ups and downs. It helped me to be the adult I am today. It helped me to feel sure of myself, sit back and say what I think. I'm myself, I do what I feel to be the right thing to do and I behave how I think is the right way to behave. If people think that's a good way to be, that's fine, but it's not as if I go out of my way to try and be humble".

Captain's armband at Arsenal: "I haven't really thought about it to be honest. It's not something which I am really trying to achieve. If it happens one day, then of course it would be great but it wouldn't change very much for me. I am not going to change as a person if that happens. I don't think I changed when I became captain of the national team. I do my job, then after that there is extra responsibility but it's not something that is important for me. I'll do the same as I have always done".

Life in London: "I'm happy and things are going well for me here. We have a great squad and a good atmosphere. I'm also a little closer to home".

Relationship with the media: "I feel a little more relaxed in that regard.  It was a bit special for me to take a step up at 15 years of age, everything that happened to me then, going to Madrid. There were a lot of people around me who were worried that I would be closely examined, the clubs people close to me. I was constantly examined. I think I must have handled it well, because now I don't have the need to talk about it".

Relationship with Arteta: "I got a positive impression from him from the first moment I spoke to him in a Zoom meeting before I joined on loan. He was very clear about how he saw me as a player, how he could use me and how he could help me. And since then, our relationship has been really good".

Stability going forward: "I definitely feel that. Arsenal is a nice, pleasant place to be. The club has given me peace and stability so that I have been able to establish myself somewhere,  and not stress myself out about where I might be in the next transfer window. I feel at home here, I feel good".