Ben Foster believes Martin Odegaard won’t be happy with something that the Arsenal captain had to do during the game against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford, courtesy of an early header from Riccardo Calafiori.
Despite claiming just their fourth league victory away against the Red Devils in the last 20 years, Mikel Arteta and his players weren’t satisfied with their performance.
The Gunners were outshot 22 to nine by Ruben Amorim’s team, while they also ceded possession for large portions of the encounter.
Ben Foster says Martin Odegaard wouldn’t have been happy to do a half-time interview
Odegaard levelled Patrick Vieira in the Premier League wins as Arsenal captain table on Sunday.
The Norwegian claimed his 71st victory as the Gunners’ skipper, with only Tony Adams now boasting more league victories whilst leading the North Londoners out.
Despite this and the three points, Odegaard may not have been overly happy with some of the events that unfolded at Old Trafford.
While he put in an admirable performance himself, some of his teammates were very off-colour, and the Gunners subsequently made securing all three points more difficult than it should have been.
Meanwhile, the playmaker was also called up for half-time media duty, interviewed by Sky Sports at the break.
As part of a new media initiative, players will occasionally be required to partake in a half-time interview, and Odegaard was the first Gunners player asked to do so.
Speaking on the Cycling GK YouTube channel, former United goalkeeper Ben Foster claimed that the Arsenal star would not have liked having to do the interview.
“Martin Odegaard at half-time, I actually really liked it,” Foster said.
“I read a load of comments on Instagram and everyone’s like ‘the game’s gone.”
“Martin Odegaard, he’s got a second half to play, and he’s talking about the game, and I was thinking, do you know what, like if I was a player, I don’t know if I’d like it. I really don’t.
“And I’m sure Martin might not have liked it, but it was insightful. I enjoyed it. He was talking about what’s gone on and he’s talking about the Man United front line and saying they’ve got some really dangerous players, some quick, and you know, they’re a threat to us.
“And I think just that little insight lets you know, oh yeah, he’s a bit worried. How long do you think it’ll be before a player gives away a little tactical nugget or something? I guarantee it will.”
The Premier League should scrap half-time interviews
While it’s a new feature of Premier League broadcasts, half-time interviews should not last the course.
The players should be fully focused on the game that’s taking place, rather than having to engage in a monotonous and robotic interview.
At the best of times, players give little away, providing mostly formulaic responses to questions to avoid making headlines.
In the heat of a match and when there is imminently still points to play for, these answers are likely to become even more mundane.
On the odd occasion that a player slips up and reveals some crucial tactical information in a half-time interview, this is only likely to lead to managers resisting the media’s attention in the future.
The whole feature feels very forced and built to add to the commercialised feeling of the spectacle.
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