Aston Villa defeated Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday night, just days after the Gunners were relieved that Villa had defeated their main title rival, Manchester City.
Although the general consensus is that Arsenal played well but lost the game, some Gooners appear to have identified Martin Odegaard as the one player whose struggles in that game cost them the victory. Odegaard missed two scoring chances, and I picked up after the game that if Odegaard had his shooting boots on, the Gunners would have won the game.
Odegaard’s usual authority on the ball was lacking, and aside from missing two good scoring chances, one shot going wide and the other well saved by Emi Martinez, Odegaard also failed to complete a single dribble; he had two attempts. He also only created one chance for his teammates and failed to complete any of his four attempted long balls.
Gooners watching their captain on Saturday evening were unhappy because, prior to the Villa game, he appeared to be on the rise, getting back to his best after a terrible start to the season.
Hopefully, the Norwegian will recover when Arsenal next plays. It is worth noting that after the game he conceded that his performance against Villa was not his finest, agreeing that he missed clear-cut chances to help his team win.
“I think we didn’t deserve to lose this game, but at the same time, we could have done better,” Martin told Arsenal.com. “Especially in front of the goals. We gave them an easy goal and we were a bit sloppy in front of goal as well, so it’s annoying and frustrating.
Martin will just have to make sure he’s got his scoring boots back on for our next game, eh?
Sam P
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In a match which best could be described as a game of two halves.
Arsenal could have been out of sight had the Norwegian turned up with his shooting boots.
Miss chances this, missed chances that. Big Ups to Emi Martinez for some superb goalkeeping 👏🏾
The Argentine is a monster between the sticks if you ask me.
Gives so much assurance