🚨 Martin Odegaard on the man who helped Arsenal believe again:
“When people talk about Mikel rebuilding Arsenal, they usually start with the transfers. I understand that. But every player who arrived had to make a decision before his name appeared on a team sheet.
You had to believe in what he was describing.
I came on loan in January 2021. Arsenal were not offering the easiest route to success. There was pressure around the club, and I was trying to find somewhere I could play regularly and grow.
What mattered was feeling that the manager could see a place for me.
In my mind, that first conversation captures the whole project. A player asking, ‘Where do I fit?’ And a manager being able to explain the answer so clearly that the future feels a little closer.
That is the feeling I want people to understand.
I returned permanently that summer. Then we lost our first three league games. The 5-0 defeat at Manchester City left us bottom without a goal.
Imagine joining something because you believe in its future, then looking at the table and seeing that.
We could hear the criticism. Of course we could. Footballers have phones. We do not finish a match and disappear into a cupboard until training.
But the next morning, someone still has to lead.
That is where a manager earns your trust. In how he explains what went wrong. In whether he gives you something useful to work on. In whether he keeps treating you like a player capable of helping him put it right.
Mikel kept working with us.
The improvement came through so many people. Gabriel gave us strength at the back. Ben brought composure and versatility. Aaron brought personality. Tomi made the group stronger.
Bukayo kept taking responsibility, even while he was still so young. Emile and Gabi gave the supporters that wonderful feeling of watching their own young team grow.
Then Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr arrived with experience of winning at City. Declan later gave us so much presence and quality. Kai, Jurrien and David added different strengths.
William returned and became a huge part of the defence. Mikel did not sign him, but helping a young player find his place matters too.
A squad becomes special when all those different journeys begin moving in the same direction.
And the supporters changed with us. You could feel the connection growing. A tackle, a recovery run, somebody chasing a ball that looked lost. The stadium started recognising the effort behind the football.
For a player, that gives you something extra when your legs are tired.
I became captain of this club. Sometimes I still think about the player who arrived on loan, simply hoping to find his rhythm again.
Mikel helped turn that uncertainty into responsibility. He trusted me to help lead the place he had once captained himself.
That means a great deal.
When I picture this story, I think about the mornings after the defeats. The staff arriving early. Players listening. A manager explaining the next step while everybody outside wanted the final answer.
Those mornings belong in the story too.
Because the Arsenal people enjoy watching grew out of them. And I hope, when Mikel hears our supporters singing, he feels how many people are grateful that he stayed and kept building.”
다문화 지역의 유색인종들은 인종적 특징을 돌출되게 묘사하지 않으면 묘사가 부족하거나 백인화 시킨다고 상상하는데,
동양에서 스탠다스 인종은 백인이 아니라 황인이다.
돌출된 특징이 필요하다고 느끼는건 비 동양 지역 유색인종들이 스스로 자기 지역의 스탠다드 인종을 백인이라고 생각해서임