5/10 Arsenal star threw a ‘stink’

Wednesday afternoon, Arsenal revived their title hopes. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, a lot about this season wasn’t easy on the eye.

Unfortunately, they are back in the title race, closing the gap on Liverpool to four points.

Well, he may well be out again after a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

Mikel ArtetaHis side created plenty of chances – as they did against Manchester United a week ago and against Spurs in midweek – but were ultimately canceled out by poor defending.

With the Gunners struggling in attack, it was refreshing to see them go 2-0 up, but Villa rallied well to leave north London with a point courtesy of Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.

It was not a good day for them at all Premier Leaguewas second place, but there were a few standout performers in red and white.

Arsenal’s best players against Aston Villa

After a flurry of criticism for his performances since Bukayo Saka was injured, Leandro Trossard has found the goods in back-to-back games now.

The Belgian scored the winner against Tottenham a few days ago and was perhaps Arsenal’s biggest threat on Saturday night.

Trossard set up both of the home side’s goals, handling the ball well down the left before crossing for Gabriel Martinelli to head home in the second half.

He was the provider in the second half as well, crossing for Kai Havertz whose powerful effort could not be stopped by former Gunner Emi Martinez.

While the attack looked like it was starting to hit, Arsenal almost escaped with the three points but for VAR ruling out a late goal. A long-range shot deflected off Havertz’s hand and found the net.

A big positive from the night was that the German found himself among the goals again. Beyond him and Trossard, teenager Myles Lewis Skelly once again starred and almost won the assist of the match, pulling the ball back for Trossard deep into injury time, only for the former Brighton man to put the chance wide .

Instead, it was a shame that Arsenal’s main creator, their captain, was not at the games.

Martin Odegaard’s performance in numbers

This was not the best time for Martin Odegaard.

Performance in numbers

Want data and statistics? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series brings you the latest match analysis from across Europe.

The Norwegian picked up an ankle injury on international duty with Norway in September, a moment that led to a 12-match absence. Since his return, he has not performed very well.

In particular, missing a penalty last Sunday in the FA Cup, the skipper seems to be suffering from a lack of confidence, which is not helped by the injury to Saka.

However, with the Englishman missing, someone has to step up and it should be Odegard. He is Arteta’s leader on the pitch but does not show the qualities required both in leadership and on the ball.

His performance against Emery’s men was as poor as it was described as “stinking” by Arsenal reporter Con Harrisonwhile GOL gave him low match rating 5/10.

The stats told the story of a really bad night for Odegaard who only managed one key pass. Usually the captain of chances in the Arsenal team, he really struggled to get places between Villa’s lines.

What summed things up was his late foul, a moment that proved to be the last kick of the game. Odegaard passed the ball deep and straight into the arms of Martinez.

This was one of He gave the ball away 18 times and to make matters worse, he didn’t win a single duel, a fact that will no doubt worry Arteta.

He also had just one shot and failed on his only dribble attempt. This was easily one of his worst performances in an Arsenal shirt.

If the Gunners are to have any chance of winning the league, they need their captain to improve quickly.

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