VfL Wolfsburg’s captain opens up on first-ever relegation

Maximilian Arnold opens up on VfL Wolfsburg’s relegation in his latest appearance on the "Behind The Athletes" podcast, hosted by sports business expert Mark Hartmann. The 32-year-old midfielder missed the last five games of the season due to injury, including the playoff tie against SC Paderborn.

"You can always earn your luck,” Arnold looked back at the previous two relegation playoffs as he doesn’t want to associate their recent fate with bad luck. "We dropped 32 points after taking the lead (this season). These are the parameters that indicate we simply didn't have the stability to prevail in such situations."

The former German international joined Wolfsburg at the age of 15 from Dynamo Dresden. The central midfielder is also expected to stay at the club where he has a contract until 2028.

"We let many games slip away in the last 15 or 20 minutes, so fitness was also an issue. And when you've lost your fifth game in the last 10 or 15 minutes, you're always looking at the clock. When wave after wave of attacks is coming your way, you look at the clock and say: ‘Wow, s**t! The clock just isn't moving.’" Arnold added as he looked back at the season that ended Wolfsburg’s 29-year Bundesliga streak.

He specifically looked back at the 6-3 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in which they squandered a 3-1 lead. “Those are the kinds of games that hurt incredibly." The Riesa-native has joined the youth ranks of Wolfsburg in the same year they won Bundesliga (2009).