Recently, there has been much discussion on Martin Odegaard’s form. The captain of Arsenal has had a difficult season, especially since suffering an ankle ligament injury in September.
The team’s consistency in the Premier League has been dismal, even though they have recently concentrated mostly on the Champions League, with the second leg of their semi-final matchup against PSG scheduled for this week. As a result, while second place appeared all but guaranteed, they now appear as though they might be forced into a top-five race.
The Gunners and their skipper had another difficult game against Bournemouth. Declan Rice’s first goal was actually set up by Odegaard, but the Cherries responded with two consecutive goals in the second half, so that was as good as it got.
Before Evanilson controversially turned the ball in at the back post to win it, Dean Huijsen got the first. However, the Premier League declared it to be inconclusive, stating: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with no conclusive evidence that Evanilson handled the ball before scoring.” It seemed as though he used an elbow to divert his shot in.
VAR Expert Dale Johnson Explained Odegaard Red Card Situation
Arsenal captain ran risk of conceding penalty
Dale Johnson, a VAR specialist, has since provided ESPN with his analysis of the incident. He concluded that Arsenal was unfortunate not to have won the call, but since “VAR isn’t supposed to make interventions on probabilities, only certainties,” it was unable to override the goal’s awarding decision on the field.
However, his subsequent remark—that Odegaard was truly fortunate that the goal was awarded—will undoubtedly draw attention. In fact, the midfielder might have given up a penalty and received a corresponding red card if it had been disallowed for handball. Johnson penned:
It’s important to remember that there was a compelling argument for a penalty for holding even if the VAR had determined that there had been a handball. Evanilson was being marked by Martin Odegaard, who had turned his back and was only interested in keeping the attacker from reaching the ball. The referee could have been sent to the screen to award Odegaard a spot kick for his actions because the ball touching Evanilson’s arm would only have resulted in a goal. Also, it would have been a red card for turning down a clear chance to score a goal.
Odegaard has been going through a difficult moment lately, and the last thing he would have wanted was to give up a penalty and a red card before the team’s crucial match against PSG. Nevertheless, regardless of the situation, losing to Bournemouth is not exactly the best preparation.
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