Mikel Arteta has admitted Martin Odegaard will need to be assessed after the Arsenal captain was substituted during the hard-fought win over Aston Villa.
Odegaard was on the receiving end of a robust challenge from Villa's John McGinn which Arteta described as "harsh". McGinn was shown a yellow card for his tackle on 68 minutes, with Odegaard replaced 13 minutes later by Emile Smith Rowe.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said: "He was in pain, let’s assess him but he felt pain from that challenge." It comes on the same day Mohamed Elneny was ruled out for a lengthy period after suffering an injury vs Fulham, while Thomas Partey continues to struggle with a muscle problem
Arsenal had already restored their lead over Villa by the time Odegaard limped off, with Gabriel Martinelli's winning goal on 77 minutes proving to be difference. Gabriel Jesus had opened the scoring in the first half, finishing off a loose ball after Grant Xhaka's cross was deflected.
Villa rallied however and managed to pull themselves back level through Douglas Luiz, who scored direct from a corner again for the third time in a matter of weeks. The Brazilian first produced the trick during a friendly vs Walsall in pre-season, before pulling it out the bag again against Bolton in the Carabao Cup, with Arsenal the latest victims.
Aaron Ramsdale complained of a foul on him by Ollie Watkins, who appeared to block the Arsenal keeper, but even a VAR review saw no issue and allowed the goal to stand. Fortunately for Arsenal, Villa's joy was short-lived. It took just three minutes for the Gunners to get their noses back in front, Martinelli firing into the top-left corner of the goal after starting the move, with Bukayo Saka delivering the pinpoint cross to the back post for his team
.jpeg)
mate.
No comments:
Post a Comment