Arteta gives blunt 7-word response when asked why Odegaard was substituted v Aston Villa

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Mikel Arteta has delivered a blunt response when asked why Martin Odegaard was brought off for Arsenal against Aston Villa yesterday.

The Emirates Stadium skipper was arguably Arsenal’s best player on the pitch before Odegaard was surprisingly taken off in the 79th minute, with Villa going on to score two late goals to secure a shock 2-0 win in north London.

With Arsenal fans praising Odegaard’s performance, the midfielder coming off arguably changed the entire tempo of the match into Villa’s favour, with the Gunners now slipping into second place behind reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

And Arteta has now delivered a reason behind why Odegaard was brought off against Villa.

Arteta details Odegaard change after Arsenal lose 2-0 vs Aston Villa

Speaking to the press via journalist Chris Wheatley, Arteta confirmed that Odegaard had a small fitness issue, with the midfielder coming off seemingly as a precaution, with the Arsenal boss saying: “He had a little issue, that’s why.”

With Arsenal facing Bayern Munich on Wednesday, having Odegaard out injured for that game would be considered by many to be quite the disaster for the north London side, with the 25-year-old one of Arteta’s most important players.

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Indeed, Odegaard was exceptional for Arsenal against Villa before coming off, with the Gunners looking visibly worse off when the former Real Madrid star was taken off with just over ten minutes to go.

And if Odegaard is out for the remainder of the season, Arsenal can more or less kiss their chances of winning either the UEFA Champions League or the Premier League goodbye, such is the midfielder’s importance.

Yesterday could not have gone any worse for Arsenal

A late 2-0 loss with a key player going off injured is something most Arsenal fans would agree spells disaster in the north London side’s attempt to win the Premier League title, with City going top leading all supporters to think the exact same thing.

The English top-flight is at a stage where no mistakes can be made if you want to win the title, and Arsenal, as well as Liverpool, did just that on Sunday, with Odegaard’s injury extra salt in the wound for Arteta.

Whilst there’s always a chance that something from this season can be salvaged, the odds are not looking good, especially if Odegaard is truly ruled out injured for a number of upcoming games.