Former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant has said that the criticism for Martin Odegaard this season is justified as “he’s dropped off a lot”.
The Gunners come off arguably their best game of the season in a 3-0 Champions League win against Real Madrid, keeping their hopes of winning silverware alive under Mikel Arteta this season.
However, looking at the season on the whole, Arsenal have seen a few disappointments, especially in the Premier League, with one such player being Martin Odegaard.
The Arsenal captain has received a lot of criticism for his performances this season which many believe is unjustified due to his contribution to the team. He has made 35 appearances for the Gunners this season, scoring five goals and providing eight assists.
But, former Arsenal winger Pennant believes that the criticism for Odegaard has been justified this season. He told Goonernews via Golden Panda: “Unfortunately for him, he set his bar so high within the last probably three years where he’s done so well and now once you kind of drop off, everyone notices.”
“If you look at his season in 2022/23, he had 15 goals and seven assists and that’s when they were pushing City all the way.
“So yeah, his performances have not been as good as previous seasons and unfortunately for him, because he set the bar so high, everyone expected that that consistency would be there, but he’s dropped off a lot.”
Saka injury has affected Odegaard’s Arsenal performances
We asked Pennant if the hamstring injury that Bukayo Saka faced in December affected Odegaard’s form, due to the fact that the Norway international has a fantastic relationship with Saka, especially in chance creation.
He responded: “I think Saka being out has had an impact on the whole squad. I think the way Saka plays and the way that Arsenal play is kind of suited to Saka and especially like you said, the relationship with Odegaard and Saka, you always see Odegaard on the right hand side when Saka is playing the little through balls.
“They’ve got a good relationship and they bounce off each other, and I think with Saka, I think you see that a lot more with Odegaard.”
