Martin Odegaard gifted match tickets to 40 children at a half-term football camp this week, allowing them to attend Arsenal’s win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Simon Collings reports for The Standard that Martin Odegaard gifted match tickets to 40 children ahead of Wednesday’s League Cup game against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Odegaard turned up at the Arsenal community centre, The Hub, on Tuesday, surprising the children in attendance at a half-term football camp. The midfielder then took part in a shirt-signing session for supporters at the club shop.
The Arsenal captain’s gift of tickets to Wednesday night’s game was reportedly part of a wider Arsenal In The Community initiative to give away 1,000 free tickets this season.
As well as the children taking part in the camp, Arsenal also gifted a ticket to a parent or guardian for each child.
“I’ve said it many times, but our supporters and our community are so key to our success,” Odegaard said. “It’s really important to us as players that we connect with our community. We feel really connected. To our people, to our supporters, and as a player it means a lot to see and feel that love.
“These courses at The Hub are amazing, I love coming to visit. I remember as a kid growing up I looked up to the players in my home town club and so it’s something that means a lot to me, to see them.”
Arsenal ended up winning the game 2-0, and it was a good game for the youngsters to attend.
Not only because of the result, but also because it saw first starts for Max Dowman and Andre Harriman-Annous, with fellow Arsenal academy graduates Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly linking up for the opening goal.
With all the teenagers in the starting lineup, the children would certainly have come away with plenty of motivation to keep practicing football themselves.