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Odegaard urges Arsenal to 'stick together' ahead of Paris mission

FRENCH TEST: Arsenal's Martin Odegaard acknowledges the crowd at the final whistle on Saturday. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.

Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth

MIKEL ARTÉTA knew he would be questioned when he submitted his side for this match. Every big player available was starting. It’s called ‘going strong’ in the trade and caught even some seasoned watchers off guard as he risked injuring his key men in a ‘routine’ league match, bang in the middle of the Champions League semi-final they trail by a goal to Paris Saint-Germain.

Sounds risky, especially against a club Arsenal had never conceded a point to, let alone a defeat, in all of their previous home matches. But take a step back and maybe it is not so barmy. Last week’s first leg defeat by PSG sapped so much hope and belief out of the players and the Arsenal supporters. The comeback plan was, therefore, sound in principle. Play his strongest side, thump Bournemouth and go to Paris this Wednesday night on the back of a confidence-boosting win… OOPS!

Now they have even more self-doubt and external criticism to overcome, as well as the might of Europe’s most highly-rated club this season. Bournemouth were good, but Arsenal were once again a shadow of the side that has taken the title race to the wire in recent seasons. They deservedly led through star man Declan Rice but then, for the tenth time this season, threw away a lead – that’s 21 points dropped from winning positions – to concede simple second-half set-piece goals from Dean Huijsen’s head and Evanilson’s elbow.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s below par, inconsistent form has mirrored that of Arteta’s team in recent months. The Norway international showed signs of regaining his spark in this match with a sublime pass to set up Rice’s goal, and vowed afterwards to step up and prove his doubters wrong.

Odegaard has suffered a severe dip in form this season, following spells out of the team through injury and illness. Arsenal’s inability to compete with Liverpool for the Premier League title was again apparent in this first ever home defeat by Bournemouth and Odegaard, although better than he has been in recent weeks, admitted he has to do better if he is to inspire his side to victory against Paris Saint-Germain. His team needs him.

He said: “Personally, I want to affect the game as much as possible and be decisive. I think that goes for all the players to be fair. We've shown that now in many of the games already in the Champions League that we're ready and we're going to be ready for Wednesday.

“To concede two goals as we did with the set-pieces is not acceptable at this level. We lost the control, we lost the rhythm and it was a bit too wild and they got to play on their strengths and then they're a good team. It was a frustrating one, but we have to stick together.”

This is the same player who scored 15 Premier League goals two seasons ago and his 10 top-flight assists last season were bettered by only two players.

Rather than making excuses for himself, Odegaard followed the line of Arteta and tried to find positives going into their make or break tie in Paris. One factor he highlighted was the return from suspension of midfield anchor Thomas Partey, absent when the French side won 1-0 in London last week.

The Ghanaian’s presence allows both Odegaard and the in-form Rice the freedom to attack with less fear of what might go wrong behind them and could be crucial, however unlikely, if Arsenal are to succeed.

Odegaard added: “Thomas is a great player and great to have him behind you. He always gives you that protection and he's so strong in the duels and good on the ball as well. So it's going to be a nice boost for us to have him in that game.

“We wanted to get that momentum back before a big game. Now you have to use all the disappointment, all the anger and frustration you feel and create energy and get ready for Wednesday. We have to use that now and just be strong together and be ready for a massive game. We know what we play for and we're going to be ready for that.”

The skipper concluded with a message to the Arsenal supporters who will be both watching from home and travelling to the Parc des Princes.

He said: “It's a massive game and we're one game away from the final. I think the supporters have been amazing the whole season. We've seen them in their away games already in the Champions League, how much they give us. So I'm just grateful for that support and hopefully they bring the noise to Paris now.”

That the Arsenal fans will be there in good voice is about all they can be sure of based on recent performances.

Champions League qualification is still not guaranteed with three games to go as Manchester City and Newcastle United could feasibly overtake them in the table.

Spare a thought for Bournemouth, though. All the headlines are about Arteta and co. but this was the first time they had achieved such a home and away success against Arsenal and they are on the verge of qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history.

Arsenal: Raya 6, White 6 (Zinchenko 86), Saliba 7, Kiwior 6, Lewis-Skelly 7, Rice 8 (Merino 74), Partey 7, Odegaard 7, Saka 6 (Nwaneri 86), Martinelli 6 (Sterling 86), Trossard 6. Subs: Setford, Tierney, Clarke, Butler-Oyedeji, Gower.

Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga 7, Araujo 6 (Scott 65), Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Adams, Tavernier, Kluivert 6 (Semenyo 65), Ouattara 6 (Brooks 74), Evanilson 6 (Jebbison 87). Subs: Dennis, Senesi, Smith, Soler, Hill.