Arsenal beat Sevilla 2-1 on Tuesday evening to move one step closer to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages.
The Gunners looked solid in Seville, as the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli took centre stage.
However, one player seemingly wasn’t at his best on the evening – Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian has come in for a bit of criticism as of late after a few underwhelming performances for Arsenal, and that continued on Tuesday.
Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright even noted Odegaard’s underperformance, stating that he was stifled in his midfield battle with Boubakary Soumare.
Wright not impressed by Odegaard
The pundit gave his verdict on the £30m player.
“It was great, but what was really good was when you look. Again, it wasn’t a great game for our captain,
He was thinking he would get the space in the midfield to turn and do a bit,
But it was Jorginho to be honest and Declan Rice,” Wright said.
“I have to say Boubakary Soumare on loan from Leicester was really good, he really stifled out Martin Odegaard.”.
Perhaps it’s due to the disappointment of the international break with Norway, but Odegaard really hasn’t looked himself in the past two games.
Of course, it’s just a small blip in what has otherwise been an impeccable 12-month spell for the Arsenal captain,
But it has to be said that we’d like to see some sort of improvement in the coming weeks.
Odegaard can be Arsenal’s most important player when he’s firing on all cylinders,
If Arsenal are to win the Premier League this season, he’ll have to be at his very best for the majority of this campaign.
Furthermore, the Ivorian winger’s finishing was subpar. Despite being known for his goal-scoring ability, Pepe to find the back of the net and had a few golden opportunities squandered.
Wright, in his assessment, pointed out the importance of. Pepe converting those chances, stating that “at this level, you’ve got to score.” It’s a valid point, as a player of. Pepe’s caliber should be clinical in front of goal.
