Before each match at the Emirates Stadium, Martin Odegaard reveals the atmosphere in the camp via his captain’s notes published in the day’s program.

Ahead of tonight’s match against Manchester United,

Against West Ham this weekend, the first half was completely crazy! We started so well, dominated every aspect of the game, led 4-0, then out of nothing they scored two goals. It was a bit of a weird feeling, but after that we got it under control again.

When Bukayo was fouled in the first penalty, we had a discussion and I said I wanted to shoot him. It wasn’t something we planned, it was just in the moment, and he said yes. It was perfect because I scored that one, and then when we got another one, he was ready to take it, so he scored too. It’s always good to score your first goal of the season, so I enjoyed that. Obviously I only played a few games before my injury, so it’s been a very long time since I scored, although it wasn’t a lot of games.

In a way it’s good to have this warning if we concede a goal in a match we won. In the last two games we’ve seen that if you switch off even a little bit, it means you’re conceding at that level. It’s a good lesson to take and learn, even though we’ve been playing really well lately. There is still room for improvement, we want to be ruthless and we will take note of this in the next matches.

It’s still a huge game against Manchester United, and with a new manager as well, we know they will be confident, especially after winning their last two games. I’m sure they will be a little different from the last time we played them, but it may also take a little time for a new manager to change their style.

The formation will be different though, and as a midfielder it changes my role a bit when we play against full-backs. It can change who we press when they have possession, who is going to press us and technicalities like that. But we’ve faced it before with different teams, so we’ll be well prepared for what’s to come. We just have to make sure we are ready to face them and play our usual game.

I saw that this was the 500th men’s competitive match at the Emirates Stadium, and I have many happy memories of playing here so far. For me the main thing is just the incredible atmosphere and energy we feel from all of you every time we play. You will all have fond memories of the stadium, and some matches stand out: the late victory against Bournemouth a few seasons ago, the victory against Liverpool last season, the penalty victory against Porto in the Champions League are just a few strong moments. three.

These are all great memories, but we want to build on more – I’m sure there’s more to come. It’s a special place – you feel at home, you feel powerful and always excited to play here. Let’s create more memories together tonight and for the rest of the season.

Read the rest of Martin’s notes, plus a host of other fantastic content, by purchasing the Arsenal v Manchester United program either around the stadium or online – Or take out a subscription to receive each edition at your doorstep.