Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard suffered an injury against Crystal Palace and that’s part of why he was benched against Aston Villa.
That’s according to TV2 back in Odegaard’s home country of Norway.
It’s claimed that Odegaard took a knock to his leg during the 2-2 home draw with Palace and wasn’t fully fit to face Villa.
Odegaard started on the bench against Villa as Mikel Arteta changed his system to face Dean Smith’s side.
Alexandre Lacazette worked just behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in something a 4-4-2 for Arsenal.
That worked brilliantly as Arsenal claimed a 3-1 win, meaning Odegaard may struggle to get back in.
Odegaard needs to pick up his Arsenal form
Odegaard did come on and had a shot on target, but Arsenal will have been expecting more from him.
The Norwegian was expected to be Arsenal’s most creative threat after securing a permanent move from Real Madrid.
After paying £30million and £85,000-a-week in wages to Odegaard, expectations were high.
So far though, Odegaard hasn’t really lived up to expectations. Yes, he scored a fine fee kick against Burnley and showed promise against Tottenham.
However, he failed to record a single key pass in games against Brighton and Crystal Palace. No successful dribbles, no shots on target… just not what you want from Odegaard.
That injury forced him onto the bench, and you could hardly blame Mikel Arteta if he benches Odegaard by choice moving forward.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
