Martin Odegaard has warned his Arsenal team-mates not to fear any of the other teams left in the Champions League after their last-16 win over Porto.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Gunners reached the quarter-finals of the competition after a penalty shootout win over the Portuguese giants at the Emirates on Tuesday. Despite reaching the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in 14 years, the Norwegian appears to be relishing the chance to face a Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or Real Madrid, among others, in the next round.
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WHAT ODEGAARD SAID
When asked if there were any teams he wanted to avoid in the last eight, as quoted by the Metro, he replied: “To be honest, we can’t think like that. It’s the biggest tournament in the world and, no matter what team we get, it’s going to be a good team. We will just take what we get and we will try to win. That’s where we want to be. We want to be on the biggest stage. We want to play the biggest games and fight for the biggest trophies. When I came here I believed in the project, in the club, what they were doing, everything around the club, I believed in it – and now we are here doing well. We just have to keep pushing each other and make sure we get a little bit better every day. We will see where it takes us.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Arsenal are in with a shout of winning some major silverware, as they sit top of the Premier League and are just three ties away from lifting the Champions League. The Gunners blew a big lead at the top of the table last season but this term they are showing more of a steeliness in the tail end of the campaign and that could make all the difference.
WHAT NEXT?
Arsenal are not in action again until March 31 due to their match with Chelsea being postponed and the upcoming international break. They face title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad at the end of the month.
