Martin Odegaard sends message to Arsenal teammates ahead of Chelsea ‘fight’ | Football

Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard has warned his teammates to be prepared for a physical battle ahead of Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea.

Both clubs have made flawless starts to the new season and 100% records will be on the line at Emirates Stadium this afternoon.

The Gunners have picked up where they left off last term, leaning into their defensive qualities to record back-to-back clean sheets in victories against Coventry City and Aston Villa.

Chelsea, by contrast, have looked shaky in defence, leaking five goals already, and have been largely bailed out by their impressive looking forward line

Morgan Rogers, who came close to joining Arsenal in the summer, has struck up an immediate understanding with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro and that trio offer the new-look Blues genuine hope of achieving a positive result at the home of the reigning champions.

Much of the pre-match focus has centered on whether or not Chelsea will be able to match-up to the physical challenge of facing Arsenal and were reported to be using rugby pads during their training sessions to prepare for battle.

‘We have been preparing to face Chelsea all week, so obviously we’ve been watching them a bit more,’ said Odegaard ahead of this season’s first heavyweight clash.

‘I think they’ve been really good going forward so far, playing some good attacking football. They have got some really good players and have made more signings this summer.

‘They have the quality to create problems in any situation, so it’s going to be a big test for us and a good fight – we’re really looking forward to it.

‘It’s a big game early in the season. They’ve started well, we’ve started well, it’s a derby, so of course it’s a massive game.

‘We want to get the win to keep going, keep building and we see this as a good chance for us to show our quality once again and to stay at the top.’

Arsenal’s attacking threat, meanwhile, is perhaps underestimated and in Bukayo Saka they possess a winger attempting to get back to his best form.

The England international was on target against the Sky Blues and produced the decisive moment in Monday night’s 1-0 win at Villa Park.

‘It was great to see Bukayo score again, that’s what we want from him, and it looks like he’s come into this season in really good shape,’ added Odegaard.

‘Obviously he struggled a bit with injuries last season, but now he’s come back really hungry, really determined to do even better this season.

‘We are seeing it in the games and we’ve seen it in training every day as well. It’s great when you see that work pay off in the games and hopefully the goals will keep coming.

‘All the teams have played twice in the league now, so we can see a bit more about how everyone is shaping up early in the season.

‘You can get an early feeling of where all the teams are, even at this stage, but we are only in September, and we mainly just focus on ourselves. We wanted to get off to a good start and we feel really strong already.

‘If we perform how we want to, then it doesn’t matter too much what the other teams are doing, but of course we watch them and we analyse them.’

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