“He’s been hiding”, “Nothing short of abysmal” - Arsenal fans slam 26-year-old star after 1-0 loss against West Ham
Arsenal fans on X have criticized club captain Martin Odegaard after he struggled to make an impact during their shock 1-0 loss against West Ham United. The two sides faced each other in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, February 22.
Despite controlling the game for most of the first half, the Gunners conceded in the 44th minute after West Ham's counter-attack was well finished by Jarrod Bowen. Arsenal desperately searched for a leveler in the second half but were dealt a massive blow after Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off (73'). Following a VAR review, the youngster was deemed to have denied the Hammers a clear goalscoring opportunity after fouling Mohammed Kudus on the halfway line.
Fans were unimpressed by Odegaard's performance in midfield. The 26-year-old was nowhere near his best and failed to dictate play, losing possession 20 times. While he did create four chances, Odegaard landed zero shots on target from three attempts, lost four duels, and delivered zero successful crosses from an attempted six.
One Arsenal fan posted:
"I hate to say it but Odegaard has been terrible this season. You need your captain to step up in difficult moments, but he’s been hiding."
Another fan tweeted:
"Odegaard been nothing short of abysmal."
Other fans reacted below:
"Whoever compared Odegaard and ozil should be put in jail right now," one fan insisted
"Saka really helped cover up a lot of Odegaard's weaknesses and his reward was getting robbed off of player of the season awards. This guy can't carry, can barely dribble or do anything centrally but gets gas because he does a lot of flicks and presses the opposition keeper," another added
"When you focus on a great player in a match, you begin to better notice how truly great they are. This principle works in the opposite direction for Martin Odegaard," one fan pointed out
"Odegaard, absolute disgrace. don’t care, absolute disgrace," another chimed in
How did Arsenal fare during their 1-0 loss against West Ham?
Arsenal's title aspirations were dealt a hammer blow after they suffered a 1-0 loss against West Ham. They failed to cover ground on leaders Liverpool and remain in second in the PL table with 53 points from 26 games, eight points behind the Reds.
Despite being down to 10 men, the Gunners dominated possession with 68 percent of the ball, completing 570 passes with an accuracy of 89 percent. Meanwhile, West Ham had 32 percent possession and completed 241 passes with an accuracy of 78 percent.
However, Arsenal struggled to be clinical up front, landing 20 shots in total with just two being on target (xG of 1.23). In comparison, the Hammers mustered five shots in total with two being on target, bagging an xG of 1.20.
Disclaimer: The above stats were taken from FotMob on February 22, 2025, at 10:55 PM IST. They are subject to change.
