Martin Odegaard shows true colours as Arsenal star’s behaviour on bench comes to light

Martin Odegaard‘s frustrated antics on Arsenal‘s bench in their 1-1 draw against Brighton saw fans praise the winning mentality of their captain.

The 25-year-old endured a difficult match on Saturday where he missed a glaring chance to put his side up while having to visit the physio numerous times after picking up a knock.

Odegaard, who was far from his best at the Emirates, was eventually substituted off in the 74th minute for Gabriel Martinelli, and the Norway international couldn’t help but display his disappointment by putting his head in his hands with pictures of the distraught midfielder shared across social media.

His substitution came after Declan Rice’s controversial red card, which ended up costing Arsenal dearly with Joao Pedro equalising soon after as Mikel Arteta’s men were forced to settle for a point.

Odegaard was not the only Arsenal star left frustrated at the end of the match but his antics on the bench displayed just how high he sets his standards as a huge portion of Gunners fans stood by their skipper with one fan taking to X (formerly Twitter) to write: “Everyone saying he needs to play better… he picked up a knock. He saw the physio four times and still played on. Give it a rest”.

Another supporter paid tribute to the Norwegian by commenting: “He has been one of the reasons why Saka ticks and how the team shifts gears. Puts in shift and presses like crazy. Some fans lose all their sense in a fraction of the second. Odegaard is one of those who has true passion” while a third fan had a different take by adding: “yeah well maybe if he turned up we wouldn’t have dropped points, he was abysmal”.

Since his initial loan arrival in 2021, Odegaard has yet to win a major trophy with Arsenal and in an interview with the Evening Standard prior to the season, he insisted that the club’s hard work will no doubt result in silverware being won during this campaign.

“The work ethic and the mentality in the team — we are all thinking about the same thing: we want to win something. We are so well trained now with the system and everyone knows it so well,” he explained. “We are a young team as well, so the experience of another year is going to help us. In the end, I’m sure it is going to be rewarded with a trophy.”

With the international break to come underway after Sunday’s fixtures, Odegaard will enjoy a two-week break before a trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first north London derby of the season on September 15.