Arsenal went down fighting in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
An early solitary strike from Ousmane Dembele was enough to help Luis Enrique's men secure a crucial 1-0 win over the Gunners at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal had a goal ruled out as Mikel Merino was marginally offside despite Declan Rice heading it home. The likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard also had their chances, but Gianluigi Donnarumma came up with solid saves to deny the hosts any opportunity to come back in the game.
A lot was expected of Martin Odegaard, but he uncharacteristically had a quiet night. The Dane failed to make an impression on the game and was later subbed out by Ethan Nwaneri.
Former Newcastle star and football pundit Alan Shearer, who was on commentary duties for Amazon Prime, was not happy with the Arsenal captain.
The former England striker felt that the 26-year-old failed to inspire the Gunners in such a crucial game. "He’s been a bit of a disappointment tonight, Odegaard," Shearer said.
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"Maybe I expected more of him, to stamp his authority on this Arsenal team. He hasn’t been able to find that killer pass or that run into the box like you would expect. He has been well marshalled," he added.
The Arsenal captain is going through a rough patch
While Arsenal have had a decent campaign, the same cannot be said about their captain, Odegaard.
Earlier in the season, Gary Neville also criticised the 26-year-old for his inconsistent performances. He even felt the midfielder was responsible for Arsenal missing out on the Premier League crown this season.
Odegaard has had eight goal contributions (2G, 6A) in 26 Premier League appearances this season. He has had four goal involvements (G3, A1) in 10 Champions League outings till now.
According to Statmuse, the Denmark international's tally of chance creation has been reduced by half in comparison to the last season. He tallied 102 chances in the 2023/24 Premier League season while only registering 56 chances created this term.
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