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Norwegian media’s worrying verdicts on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard after Norway’s draw in Kazakhstan
Arsenal have a number of players out on international duty and fans will be anxiously following how they get on for their countries.
Not only does the international break put a halt to the Premier League and other top leagues, but there’s also the risk of players picking up injuries or getting fatigued.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard suffered a knock in the Gunners’ draw with Brighton last time out, after a challenge by Yankuba Minteh.
Although he was fine to continue after on-pitch treatment, he struggled to have as much of an impact on the game before being replaced by Gabriel Martinelli with 15 minutes left.
Odegaard was then fine to join up with Norway on international duty, and on Friday, he played in the 0-0 draw with Kazakhstan in the Nations League.
The Arsenal star played the full 90 minutes and worked hard to try and create opportunities for his teammates amid strong challenges from the opposition.
Several Norwegian outlets spoke highly of Odegaard after the game, though there were some concerning points in their post-match ratings pieces.
Arsenal star Martin Odegaard ‘kicked down repeatedly’ and may have ‘too much responsibility’ for Norway
gave Odegaard a 5 out of 10 rating, before suggesting he may have “too much responsibility” in his international role.
‘The captain had to go down a lot to collect the ball on the outside of Kazakhstan’s structure as he was given the plays in between by those around him,’ they wrote.
‘He takes an enormous amount of responsibility. Too much responsibility?
‘Danced around with a couple of opponents at times, but wished he was more involved closer to the opposition’s goal.
‘Great opportunity after a pass from Horn Myhre after 61 minutes. Have seen him score on such occasions.’
‘Another good opportunity after 65 minutes after good wall play with Sorloth. Enormously involved and very active throughout the match, a lot almost.’
Meanwhile, deemed Odegaard their man of the match, but noted how some of Kazakhstan’s players targeted him on numerous occasions.
‘Norway’s captain with a relatively good international match,’ they wrote.
‘Stepped on the ball, pulled off Kazakh players and occasionally dictated the game without Norway being able to create too much against the hosts.
‘Drove the Kazakh players wild at times in the second half, who kicked down the Arsenal captain repeatedly, but all in all a disappointing night’s work.’
Finally, gave the Arsenal skipper a 5 out of 10 rating, writing: ‘Was furious when he didn’t get the ball at the end of the first half.
‘He had the ball a lot, but he didn’t get to the top level either.’
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano shares the reason why Arsenal haven’t signed a new striker
Frustrations ahead of North London derby
Arsenal are already without Declan Rice for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur after his highly controversial dismissal against Brighton.
Gunners fans certainly won’t want to hear that Odegaard had to play the full 90 minutes in their Nations League trip to Kazakhstan, not to mention him working hard and being on the receiving end of many tackles.
Norway are next in action on Monday when they host Austria in a Nations League encounter in Oslo.
Fingers crossed Odegaard comes through that game unscathed, because the next North London derby is absolutely crucial for the Gunners.