Gary Neville was unimpressed with one Arsenal player today despite a vital victory at Old Trafford for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal picked up a rare 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon to keep their title hopes alive.
Leandro Trossard’s first-half effort proved to be the difference between the sides and Arsenal defended resolutely thereafter.
The Gunners had won just once in their past 16 visits to Old Trafford ahead of today and it’s fair to say they picked an ideal moment to end a poor run in Manchester.
It leaves Mikel Arteta’s side relying on City to drop points at Tottenham or on the final day of the season. Kai Havertz has already admitted he will be Spurs’ ‘biggest fan’ on Tuesday as Pep Guardiola’s men travel to north London.
But the Gunners will also be aware of the task at hand against Everton on the final day.
While Arsenal picked up a vital three points today, it’s fair to say they weren’t at their free-flowing best and Gary Neville claims Martin Odegaard had a ‘quiet’ afternoon.
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Neville says Martin Odegaard was ‘quiet’ vs United
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville claimed Arsenal simply weren’t getting their captain on the ball often enough at United.
He said: “Arsenal need to get Odegaard on the ball, he’s been a bit quiet in this game. They need him.”
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Odegaard’s stats vs United
Odegaard has excelled for Arsenal once again this season, racking up 20 goal involvements in 46 appearances.
Nigel Winterburn recently claimed the £30 million man has been even better than Declan Rice this term.
While that is up for debate, there’s no denying that Odegaard wasn’t at his best against United.
The 25-year-old picked up a 6.9 match rating from Sofascore, the joint-worst of any Arsenal player alongside Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
- 89 minutes played
- 45 touches
- 26/32 passes completed
- 1 key passes
- 4/10 ground duels won
- 12 possession lost
- 2 tackles
- 3 dribbled past
While Odegaard was quiet today, the Arsenal skipper cannot be faulted for his work rate and still played a role in Arsenal’s resilient defensive display.
