‘He wasn’t’: Pundit says £30m Arsenal player wasn’t running like he usually does vs Brighton(Video)

Arsenal struggled against Brighton on Saturday as the Gunners laboured to a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal had a number of issues against Brighton.

Declan Rice’s red card was controversial, and, ultimately, that left Arsenal in the lurch, but Rice wasn’t the only player who didn’t have his best day.

Martin Odegaard wasn’t quite at it against Brighton as he picked up an early knock, and speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, Adrian Clarke has noted that the Norwegian seemed to be seriously affected by this injury.

Indeed, Clarke says that Odegaard wasn’t running as he usually does against Brighton, claiming that he wasn’t covering as much ground and he wasn’t covering the ground as quickly as usual.

Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates his team's victory after the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Arsenal FC at Villa Park on Augu...

Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Martin Odegaard didn’t look right against Brighton

Clarke shared his verdict on the £30m midfielder.

“Odegaard got a bit of an injury, he wasn’t moving freely, he wasn’t covering ground as he usually does, he wasn’t covering it as quickly as he does. Bukayo Saka for that first 20 minutes though was mesmeric,” Clarke said.

Arsenal struggled to deal with Brighton

Arsenal dropped their first points of the season against Brighton at the weekend, and the Seagulls may have set the blueprint of how to get the better of Mikel Arteta’s side.

As much as Brighton are hailed for their nice football, this team isn’t afraid of utilising the dark arts when needed.

Brighton went in hard on Odegaard, causing a bit of an injury that put him off his game, while they clearly got in Declan Rice’s head as both of his yellow cards were ill-judged incidents that should’ve been avoided.

Fingers crossed Odegaard can get back to full fitness over this international break and return to his best form against Tottenham in the north London derby, because the midfielder has been so important for Arsenal in these games in recent years.

Odegaard is a top player, but he was something of a non-factor in Arsenal’s game against Brighton over the weekend.