Martin Odegaard tells Arsenal squad to do one thing in response to VAR controversy

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Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard has sent a clear message to his teammates.

Martin Odegaard and the rest of the Arsenal squad will have been feeling aggrieved after their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday. Mikel Arteta certainly feels that his side should have taken more from the match and were on the end of some questions refereeing decisions. 

As quoted by the club’s official website, the Spanish coach said, “I think we deserved much more than what we had, I thought we were the better team.” When quizzed about his thoughts on the officiating in the game, he simply repeated the phrase “clear and obvious,” though his tone made it abundantly clear that he did not agree with some of the key calls that were made by Liverpool-fan referee Jarred Gillett.

Arsenal now need to respond to their setback at Villa Park. It is vital that the north London club are able to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when they face Brighton this weekend.

Odegaard has now made it clear what he expects from his teammates. As quoted by The Standard, the Norwegian ace said, “we have to look at ourselves, look at what we could have done better and I think especially in front of the goal, we should have done a bit better and in some periods of the game we should have controlled it a bit more…the only thing we can do is work hard to improve and bounce back in the next one-on-one.”

Arsenal must rediscover scoring touch

Odegaard himself was criticised by Arsenal fans for his wasteful showing in front of goal against Aston Villa. Arsenal certainly need to be more efficient in the final third in future. In what looks set to be a tight title race, they cannot afford to let goalscoring opportunities pass them by as they did at Villa Park.

As well as the former Real Madrid man, the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka all passed up presentable chances to score against the Midlands outfit.

One positive Arteta will keep in mind, though, is that his side were able to go to Villa Park and make so many chances. Unai Emery’s side are well-drilled and in great form, especially at home, which makes this an impressive feat. It would also be more of a concern for the Arsenal boss if his side were failing to fashion opportunities in the first place, rather than simply lacking the final touch.