Martin Odegaard, captain of Arsenal, has provided an honest evaluation of Rodri's tackle on him during Norway's initial European Championship qualifier against Spain on Saturday.
As the elegant playmaker came under a strong tackle from the Manchester City midfielder after attempting a shot in the Spanish box, the Scandinavian team thought they should have been given a penalty.
The vision of Odegaard writhing in pain on the turf will have been heartbreaking for Arsenal supporters as their club seeks its first Premier League championship since 2004.
Fortunately, Odegaard was shortly back on his feet and played the rest of the game, which Spain won 3-0 at Malaga's Stadium La Rosaleda.
Was this not a deliberate tackle from Rodri on Odegaard? pic.twitter.com/9OscE3G2GS
— Gooner by blood (@Gooner_By_Blood) March 26, 2023
Dani Olmo scored for the hosts during the initial half before Joselu, a 32-year-old replacement making his national squad debut, secured a comfortable victory with a late brace.
Norway, on the other hand, was missing its star striker, Erling Haaland, who was forced to withdraw from the team due to injury.
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To make matters further, they were left feeling angry that French referee Benoit Bastien did not award them a penalty kick, which both Head Coach Stale Solbakken and Odegaard alluded to in their post-match statements.
[I believe I should have received a penalty. He will be right on my ankle with his studs]. Odegaard stated to TV2.
[Though I'm sure I'll be punished if I say anything else. I'm not going to say anything further about the referee. It is good to say nothing more].
Solbakken went on to say: "He [Odegaard] completes the shot, and you cannot foul him thereafter. It's a penalty if I push anyone down after the ball has passed. This is starting to bore me." What I'm seeing now [on replay] is precisely what I observed from the bench.
There was a touch of French arrogance going on. That's how it is, but it's incredible."
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Yet, the Arsenal manager said that his team was simply not ruthless enough on the night.
[We held possession of the football and attempted to play out from the back.] Odegaard remarked.
We established some fantastic opportunities that we must capitalise on. We didn't, and they seem to score goals out of nowhere.
[The scoreline then gets considerably uglier than it looked. We did a lot of excellent things, but we weren't focused enough on the goal.]
Norway will go to Georgia on Tuesday, whilst Spain will play Scotland in Glasgow.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy