Martin Ødegaard happy with Arsenal’s new duo and says team hungry for title defence

<ul><li><p>Captain’s praise for new signings Guimarães and Tzolis</p></li><li><p>Arsenal kick off new season against Coventry on Friday</p></li></ul><p><br>
Martin Ødegaard has praised the instant impact made by new signings Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis in Arsenal’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/16/arsenal-manchester-city-community-shield-match-report">Community Shield victory over Manchester City</a> on Sunday and believes the Premier League champions can compete for multiple trophies this season.</p><p>Arsenal were hugely impressive as they blew away last season’s FA Cup winners in Cardiff, racing into a 3-0 lead after only 48 minutes. Tzolis – a £34m signing from Club Brugge – set up Kai Havertz for the second goal before adding another assist for Ødegaard to make it 3-0 just after half-time. Guimarães was replaced at the break by Declan Rice having put in a commanding performance on his first start since joining from Newcastle for £75m and Ødegaard admitted the Brazil midfielder has fitted in seamlessly.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/17/martin-odegaard-arsenal-new-signings-premier-league-title-defence">Continue reading...</a>