Martin Odegaard says he and his Arsenal team-mates are ready to step up against Paris Saint-Germain in a game “you dream of your whole life”.
Arsenal are hosting PSG on Tuesday night at Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has labelled the game as arguably the biggest since the Emirates opened in 2006 and has called on his players to seize the moment.
Odegaard believes the squad are ready to do that and they are relishing the chance of guiding Arsenal to a first Champions League final in 19 years.
“These are the games you dream of your whole life,” said Odegaard. “It’s a great feeling. I think it’s just a special occasion and everyone is really up for that.
“Nights like this give you a lot of energy, especially when we are here at home. Above all, we really want to win something. There is so much motivation around, and we are determined to show what we can do.
“We’ve shown already this season that we can step up for the big matches.
“That’s a result of the way we’ve been working over the past few years and the way we prepare for these big moments.
“We’ve been working together as a group for a long time and everyone is really confident in each other. We trust each other. We know what to do on the pitch, and when it comes to games like this, we know what it means and how important it is.”
Arsenal beat PSG 2-0 earlier this season when the two sides met during the league phase of the Champions League.
Odegaard believes he and his team-mates can take confidence from that, but they must also be wary of how the French champions have improved.
PSG, like Arsenal, are bidding to win the Champions League for the first time and their boss Luis Enrique says they are hungry to make history.
“We have to be ready for the test,” said Odegaard, writing in his programme notes before the game with PSG.
“We played PSG earlier this season, but I missed that game through injury. I was at the stadium that night to watch and I remember it being a really controlled performance from us.
“It will be a different type of game from the last time we played, and also now we’re in the knockout stages, which changes the dynamic too.
“We can definitely use that win over them in October to our advantage though. I think you can always look back at previous meetings to see their patterns and how they want to play.
“Their style and everything will be similar, and it’s the same two coaches as when we last played.
“But the occasion is a completely different story now. It’s a semi-final, over two legs, when everything is on the line.”
