Arsenal attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard did not make much of an impression as the Gunners slipped to a first-leg defeat against Villarreal last night.
The Norwegian was pretty ineffective before he was hauled off in the second half by manager Mikel Arteta and some fans on Twitter weren’t particularly kind about his display after the game:
Odegaard is just an average player. Nothing special about his style of play. All he is does is pass even when he has a clear chance to shot on target
— Prince (@prince_akaayar) April 30, 2021
He was rubbish. Not good enough for a team that wants to get back to the top.
— Lenyora (@BlackMagicGP) April 30, 2021
He plays too deep and slows the play up too often! He’s not the no 10 Arsenal need!!
— Steven Spence (@Speener1690) April 30, 2021
I just don’t understand why he never ever took a shot, he was in some great positions.
— Rob Kearsey (@Rob_kearsey) April 30, 2021
He has zero assists in 20 plus appearances this season, and I think 4G/A in his last 40 or so.
— Emzel (@Emzyl23) April 30, 2021
Dude be playing the ball backwards more often , still feel we are doing that thing of overrating players who arent signed for Arsenal, Rowe should be playing 10 get in a new striker
— Jessy (@AfcJessy) April 30, 2021
still odegaard and ceballos aren’t Arsenal level if we be serious.
— Aditya Jaiswal (@laditya079) April 30, 2021
That not an excuse, ö is great and he is a good baller but he isn’t what we need, we need someone who can give unpredicted passes to create something, he’s passes are can he easily predicted and they are mainly short passes that are mostly back passes..
— ojo daniel ayantade (@AyantadeOjo) April 30, 2021
To be fair to Odegaard, there are some mitigating circumstances that explain his below-par performance. The 22-year-old is still recovering from an ankle injury which means he is unlikely to be 100% fit.
On top of that, Arteta got his tactics wrong on the night, leading to Arsenal being overrun at times and consequently meaning Odegaard had limited time on the ball.
However, saying that, he still needs to be a lot more influential in games, considering he is playing in the no.10 role. Supporters will be hoping he puts in a much better display in the second leg next week.