Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta defends ‘tactical’ Martin Odegaard substitution against Everton as Arne Slot hails Liverpool character in Fulham draw | Football News

Mikel Arteta defended his decision to replace Martin Odegaard as Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Everton and missed the chance to fall behind leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal captain Odegaard was withdrawn along with Declan Rice after 62 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, replaced by Ethan Nwaneri and Jorginho.

But while Rice’s substitution led to a serious injury, Arteta later confirmed that the decision to drop Odegaard was for “tactical reasons” and not a fitness issue.

The Gunners struggled to create chances without the Norway international in the latter stages as they failed to capitalize in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield.

“With Declan, I had to take him out because he was feeling something,” Arteta said. “And it was a tactical decision with Martin to try to change their rhythm, especially on that side.

“If Ethan comes on and scores, is he a great NCO? If he doesn’t, you’ve got your captain out. That’s football.

“(His reaction) was the same as (Gabriel) Martinelli’s. I’m sure they want to play the 90 minutes. But that’s why we have subscriptions.”

Odegaard was not at his best throughout the game, missing a handful of clear-cut chances in the first half and creating none as Arsenal failed to capitalize on their dominance after drawing 1-1 at Fulham for the second straight league game.

But it was still surprising to see him dropped given his importance, and the changes didn’t have the desired effect for Arteta as Arsenal failed to create any clear-cut scoring chances in the latter stages as Jordan Pickford’s inspired visitors struggled. a hard-earned point.

“I’m very disappointed not to win the game because obviously there’s only one team that deserves to win and that’s Arsenal,” added Arteta. “We didn’t give up anything, no conceded shots, dominated straight play, didn’t allow any runs, no turnovers, our high press was excellent.

“We created chances but conceded goals in the last 20 metres, which you have to do with all the dominance. But I can’t ask for much more from the lads than the ball in the net.”

Slot admired Liverpool character

Liverpool, meanwhile, were struggling at Anfield and were held to a 2-2 draw thanks to Diogo Jota’s late equaliser, after Andrew Robertson was sent off in the 17th minute for a foul on the last man.

Arne Slott was delighted with his side’s character as they maintained their six-point lead over Arsenal and said Robertson was punished for playing through injury.

“The team showed character, that’s what Robo showed,” Slott said. “If you get hit like that, two studs in the knee, it can hurt for a few minutes. If you keep running and it gets better and better, that’s what we were hoping for.

“I’ve only had one defender on the bench who isn’t a left-back so you hope he’s got through it and he’s done quite well.

“But the moment I noticed she wasn’t quite herself was when they put the ball in behind and she started running and just managed to head it back to Ali (Alison Becker).

“I felt, ‘Hmm, well, let’s see how it goes’ and I think pretty soon he missed the red card.

“There’s nothing to blame him for, the character showed he wanted to go on as he got hit pretty hard with two studs. Unfortunately it led to a well-deserved red card.”

Slott praised his players for extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points as second-placed Chelsea play Brentford on Sunday.

“I think it’s the exact opposite of Girona (midweek Champions League win) where I was happy but not with the performance,” he added.

“I’m very happy with the game here, I couldn’t ask for more, but certainly not with the result, because if you drop points at home to Fulham, it’s definitely not what you expect and what you want.

“But yeah, scoring twice is against you, except for one thing – our players and fans – I thought we were great.”