‘Tremendous’ Arsenal star says that he ‘doesn’t care’ about criticism amid poor form

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Arsenal have several players who have faced criticism for their performances over the last 12 months.

The Gunners endured a turbulent 2024/25 campaign because key members of Mikel Arteta’s squad didn’t produce what was expected of them, and Andrea Berta sought to address this by acquiring eight players in the transfer window.

Viktor Gyokeres arrived for £63 million from Sporting CP over the summer, while Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze also joined the North Londoners for significant fees.

These additions, along with a number of cheaper purchases, should help to reduce Arsenal’s reliance on certain individuals in Arteta’s ensemble.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Martin Odegaard responds to critics

Martin Odegaard struggled for Arsenal last season.

The Norwegian suffered an ankle injury near the start of the campaign, and this seemed to impact his ability to perform consistently once he’d returned.

This poor form unsurprisingly prompted criticism from fans and the media, with Tony Adams questioning Odegaard’s status as Arsenal captain.

“Every now and again as a manager, you have to put someone who reflects you, who reflects the football club, who you think can actually take you to the next level,” Adams said at an Irish Independent Sport event.

“You’ve got someone in there who’s going to play every game all season, that’s going to encourage people to come in and lay the foundations of a title-winning team. Declan Rice can do that, Odegaard can’t. Come on Arteta, make him captain.”

After receiving support from his teammates and Arteta in his position as Gunners skipper, Odegaard has finally broken his silence on the criticism from Adams and elsewhere.

“I don’t care that much, to be honest,” he told the Athletic.

“Everyone can have their opinion and say what they want, and I’m all right with that. I can’t care about what everyone says.

“There’s a lot of negative and positive things to say, but I can’t let it affect me. That’s what I’ve thought throughout my career.”

Arsenal now don’t need to rely on Martin Odegaard as much as they did

Odegaard has started the season impressively, performing well away at Manchester United and for Norway against Finland last week.

Recovering from a shoulder injury and playing for his nation, he should be in line to return to Arsenal’s starting eleven for the clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

However, if Arteta needs to rest the playmaker to ensure he doesn’t aggravate his shoulder issue, he can.

Odegaard has been a single point of failure in the Gunners’ team in recent times, but Arsenal now have more options than ever who can reliably fill in for him.

Mikel Merino played in this role against Liverpool and is a more functional alternative to the former Real Madrid man.

Meanwhile, new signing Eze could easily be deployed as the creative midfielder in Arteta’s team, as can youngster Ethan Nwaneri, who signed a new contract on the basis that he would be the Norway international’s understudy.

Odegaard has been described as ‘tremendous’ in the past and will undoubtedly be a key part of Arsenal’s team this season, but he no longer has to carry the creative burden by himself moving forward.