Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard admits he has ‘not been good enough’ this season but insists he is working hard to improve

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has conceded that he has ‘not been good enough’ this season.

Odegaard delivered 23 goals and 17 assists over the past two Premier League seasons but he has so far only scored twice and set up a further three goals during the current campaign.

But one of his best performances for a long time came on Tuesday when Arsenal thrashed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

The 26-year-old played the full 90 minutes in the Netherlands, scoring twice before assisting a goal for Riccardo Calafiori. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Manchester United, Odegaard publicly challenged himself to produce more performances of that level.

‘I’m very used to people speaking about me, judging my performances and I do that myself,’ he said. ‘I’m harder on myself and I know that I have not been good enough, especially in front of goal.

‘I work hard every day to improve it and I know I have the ability and the talent to do it. PSV Eindhoven was good and hopefully now I can do more towards the end of the season.’ 

But Odegaard scored two goals on Tuesday night as Arsenal won 7-1 away at PSV Eindhoven

Odegaard is now challenging himself to improve and produce more performances of that level

He added: ‘With the players we have out [injured], the rest of us have to step up even more. It’s a good thing we can share the goals and hopefully we can keep doing that.’

Arsenal won 1-0 at Old Trafford late last season. United have since lost seven of their last 23 home fixtures in all competitions, including humbling defeats by Brighton and Crystal Palace this calendar year.

Asked whether Old Trafford still carried a fear factor for opposing teams, Odegaard replied: ‘I don’t know. I mean, they’re not where they want to be in the table.

‘It’s a big club which has struggled a little bit. They have a lot of individual quality and when they play as a team, it’s challenging to play them. But we go there to win. We’re Arsenal and we’re not scared.’ 

Arsenal will go into Sunday’s game 16 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 on Saturday.

However, the Gunners are a whopping 21 points above United – who sit way down the table in 15th place.