Arsenal fans have turned on a star player despite their comfortable 2-0 victory over Brentford.
Arsenal returned to the win column following their 1-1 draw against Chelsea by beating Brentford on Wednesday.
Mikel Merino opened the scoring in the 11th minute, with Bukayo Saka doubling his side's lead in second-half stoppage time as the Gunners regained their five-point lead at the top
Mikel Arteta rang the changes for his side's game against Brentford as he brought in Ben White and Noni Madueke for Jurrien Timber and Saka.
Advert
Not to mention Martin Odegaard, who replaced Eberechi Eze.
Odegaard returned to the starting XI for the first time since October 4 when Arsenal beat West Ham United.
He played the entire game as he notably created three chances in the first-half.
Despite his first-half showing, Odegaard frustrated some Arsenal fans online.
His performance at the Emirates was subjected to criticism as Arsenal supporters on social media made their feelings clear.
One X user wrote: "Odegaard slows the game down sooo much and then gets the pure footballer tag."
A second said: "I hope everyone’s seeing Odegaard’s complete nothingness performance once again, how he’s still on the pitch is beyond me."
A third, however, argued: "Arsenal are an entirely different team with Odegaard on the pitch. Don’t let agenda blind you."
Another commented: "One thing I’ve clocked with Odegaard since his injury is he picks and chooses which games to go serious in, you can tell when he’s holding back..."
Odegaard has been hampered with a series of injuries this season, restricting him to just eight league appearances.
He has dealt with two shoulder injuries and a knee issue but returned against Brentford.
On the 26-year-old, Arteta said: "Martin [Odegaard] has been out, and he puts 96 minutes under his belt straight away."
Arsenal's game against Brentford is the first of their eight fixtures scheduled for December.
They face Unai Emery's Aston Villa twice and have Champions League and Carabao Cup obligations.
The upcoming schedule was behind Arteta's decision to make changes against Brentford.
"Rest, that's quite a positive word to use," he said. "We had to make some changes; we had a very demanding week at every level: emotionally, physically, and what the game demanded.
"The tactical and technical aspect of it, we were asked to play three days later, one less recovery than Brentford, and still performing the way that we've done against a team that is super well coached, very well organised."
Topics: Fan Reactions, Arsenal, Martin Odegaard, Football
Nasir Jabbar