Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard had a match to forget against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Aston Villa battled to a 1-0 win against Arsenal at Villa Park. The Gunners will feel they should have taken something from the match, though.
The north London club crafted a number very presentable opportunities. Martin Odegaard was guilty of spurning two such openings.
In the first half., the ball came to the Norwegian midfielder in the Aston Villa box. He stepped inside the attendant defender and had time to set himself. However, his effort was tame, and former Arsenal shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez got down well to keep it out. Whilst it was a good save, from that kind of range, Odegaard really ought to have hit the back of the net.
The 24-year-old had an even better chance in the second half. Kai Havertz played a ball across the box, directly into the £30 million former Real Madrid man’s stride. With Martinez wrong-footed and the ball on his favoured left foot, all Odegaard had to do was sweep it home into the bottom corner. This is the kind of finish that the skipper has made his trademark in an Arsenal shirt. On this occasion, though, he skewed the ball wide.
Odegaard was not the only Arsenal player guilty of missing chances against Aston Villa. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli all had opportunities, too. After the match, Mikel Arteta lamented his side’s inability to find the back of the net in a match which they largely dominated.
As quoted by the club’s official website, the Spanish coach said, “we didn’t have the accuracy that is required at this level to win the game.”
Odegaard will be particularly disappointed with his own lack of a tangible contribution, though. Especially as the 55-cap Norway international had looked to be back to his best in recent weeks. He came into this game in good form and ought to have been full of confidence.
Plenty of Arsenal fans certainly feel that player let his team down in vital moments against the Midlands outfit. Taking to X, one supporter said, “Odegaard was awful today.” Another agreed, chipping in with, “Jesus and Odegaard cost us today, I don’t care how good they are.”
Other fans agreed with this verdict. One said, “I blame Odegaard for this L.” One fan, who felt that the officials did not help the Gunners’ cause on the day, also claimed that “referees and their association have an agenda against us yes, but that doesn’t excuse our not being ruthless In front of goal, odegaard the major culprit, we were just appalling today.”
One fan, though, really feels that Odegaard is a problem within the team, looking even beyond his wasteful display against the Villans. They said, “as long as Odegaard is our midfielder, Arsenal will never win any major titles. Flat footed, awkward right foot, slow and sloppy when pressed, no creativity or pace to penetrate defenses.”