As Arsenal’s midfield general and captain, Martin Odegaard spends most of his life calling the shots on the pitch.

So he was glad to take a back seat when it came to cooking the Christmas dinner.

‘Normally we’re pretty busy for Christmas but this year we had a nice schedule so it was good to get time with the family and [eat] Norwegian Christmas food as well,’ said Odegaard.

The snack of choice for one of the best midfielders in the land? Risgrynsgrot, a Scandinavian rice pudding dish with almonds, which are said to bring good luck.

Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard is used to calling the shots for his side but at Christmas he takes a back seat

The Gunners are in search of a much-needed win against Liverpool in Sunday’s FA Cup clash

But that rub of the green had seemingly deserted Odegaard by the time he returned to the pitch.

It has been a poor run into the New Year for the Gunners, who first lost at home to West Ham before defeat at Fulham left them fourth in the table and two points off the top.

Those two results followed a hard-earned point at leaders Liverpool, which should have been the foundations of their title challenge.

Instead they meet Jurgen Klopp’s side again on Sunday in a mouth-watering FA Cup third round tie hoping to put the spark back into their season. The Gunners will don an all-white kit for the game as part of the club’s No More Red campaign against youth violence.

‘I don’t think it was anywhere near the standards we’ve set for ourselves and the performances we’ve shown this season,’ said the 25-year-old of their performance against Fulham.

‘But this can happen, you know? Sometimes you don’t have the best day at the office, you have to learn from it and come back stronger. This is the moment to show that against Liverpool. That’s what we’re going to try and do.’

Odegaard admitted the Gunners were well below their usual standards in the loss to Fulham

In many ways Odegaard believes Arsenal have been the victims of their own recent success. Opposition teams now go into games solely focused on nullifying the Gunners, often with heavy-handed methods.

‘After what we did last season and the beginning of this season, teams are analysing us and looking at what we’re doing in games,’ he explains.

‘They’re trying to stop us playing to our strengths. Are they dropping deeper? Yeah, I think so.

‘I like that challenge. It’s a good sign, to feel like teams are coming here and showing that they respect you. We just have to find different spaces and to play well enough to deal with it.’

It will come as sweet relief to Odegaard that today’s clash with Jurgen Klopp’s side is likely to be a far more open game.

The Gunners face Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool – against whom they are competing for the Premier League title this term

Though there are no league points up for grabs, there is the sense that this is the perfect opportunity for both sides to land a psychological blow on one of their title rivals.

But for Odegaard, knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup would simply take Arsenal one step closer to silverware in a competition they have won more than any other team.

‘Everyone was very disappointed because we were so close to winning it [the league],’ said Odegaard. ‘We’re Arsenal, we want to win trophies, we want to be the best.

‘We look at what we could have done better and the big goal is still to win trophies. It’s a massive game against a strong team. It’s a chance to go further in another big competition.’