‘Real ghost’… What France’s media are now saying about Arsenal star Martin Odegaard after PSG performance

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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard produced a disappointing performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League.

Odegaard assumed his usual right eight role in the Gunners’ midfield, and led Mikel Arteta’s team out in the club’s biggest match for several years.

PSG ran out 1-0 winners at the Emirates, with Ousmane Dembele’s smart finish inside the opening five minutes giving the Gunners a mountain to climb in the second leg in Paris next week.

Tasked with being the creative force at the heart of Arsenal’s team, Odegaard struggled to influence proceedings in the final third, whilst being physically dominated by PSG’s slight midfield at times.

• READ MORE: Five things learned from Arsenal v PSG including Arsene Wenger’s return and Thomas Partey’s costly absence

French press react to Martin Odegaard’s performance during Arsenal vs PSG

Scoring from their first shot, PSG dominated the opening period of the game, with Arsenal looking shell-shocked to have conceded so early in an encounter of such magnitude.

While the Gunners did recover somewhat, aside from two late Gabriel Martinelli chances in the first half, they didn’t really offer enough offensively.

Part of this final third impotence was a result of the team’s skipper being far from his best, with the Norwegian playmaker not combining effectively with Bukayo Saka or doing enough creatively in other areas of the pitch.

Arsenal fans were frustrated with Odegaard’s performance, and the French press weren’t particularly impressed either.

Foot Mercato gave the former Real Madrid man a staggering 3.5 out of ten for his display, writing: “The Norwegian was a real ghost. Very inaccurate on set pieces, Martin Odegaard continually made bad decisions in the game, giving the ball back to the Parisian defense too often in his attempts to put the game forward.

“He came close to a correction, losing a very dangerous ball after attempting a step-over in front of his area in the 54th minute.”

Martin Odegaard’s statistics vs PSG

It’s been a down season for Odegaard, who has struggled since returning from a serious ankle injury in November.

It’s possible that he’s still feeling the effects of that setback, and that he’ll return to form after a proper rest over the summer, but ultimately, Arsenal would’ve hoped for more from one of their most talented players.

Five goals and nine assists in all competitions isn’t what you’d expect from the man who has won Arsenal’s player of the season award in the last two years.

In this game, the Norway international was weak, whilst his decision-making and execution in high leverage moments wasn’t good enough.

While he retained possession relatively successfully, he did very little in the final third when the impetus was on him to do so.

Creating one chance, completing one dribble, taking no shots and having one touch in the opposition penalty area, Odegaard was virtually a non-factor for the Gunners in an attacking sense.