BAD NEWS: Arsenal Main man suffers horrific tackle from Man City’s Rodri

Martin Odegaard has given his honest opinion on Rodri’s rough tackle on him during Spain vs Norway.

Norway were denied a stonewall penalty when Odegaard was brought down by Rodri in the penalty area as he unleashed a shot.

While Norway fans were more outraged about how they weren’t given a penalty, the watching Arsenal fans would have been angry at the prospect of their captain being injured – especially when the tackle came from a Manchester City player!

We’re sure Rodri meant no malice with his tackle, but there’s no denying it was poorly timed and endangered the safety of Odegaard.

Arsenal fans certainly weren’t happy.

Fortunately, Odegaard soon picked himself up after his appeals for a penalty were waved away. He completed the 90 minutes, so we can assume there was no damage sustained by Rodri’s brutal challenge.

That’s no consolation for Norway, though, who fell to a 3-0 defeat in their European Championship qualifier.

Norway didn’t have Man City’s Erling Haaland to call upon, who withdraw from international duty through injury.

A first half goal from Dani Olmo before a late brace from substitute, Joselu, sealed a comfortable win for Spain in the end.

But, after the match, Norway were still wondering why on earth they weren’t given a penalty.

Odegaard responds to Rodri’s tackle

That was certainly what Odegaard was thinking during his post-match interview.

He was asked about Rodri’s tackle – and while watching it back – Odegaard stopped just short of calling out the officials.

“I’m pretty sure I should have had a penalty. He’s coming with his studs right on my ankle,” Odegaard told TV2.

“But I’m sure I’ll get punished [if I say anymore]. I don’t bother saying anything else about the referee. It’s better not to say anything.”

Odegaard’s manager, Stale Solbakken, also couldn’t believe the decision from French referee Benoit Bastien.

“He [Odegaard] finishes the shot and you can’t [foul him after]. If I knock someone down after the ball is gone, then it’s a penalty. I get a little bored of this.

“What I see here now [on the replay] is exactly what I saw from the bench. There was a bit of French arrogance going on. That’s the way it is, but it’s unbelievable.”

While the decision didn’t decide the match, it played a huge role in the outcome.

But Odegaard admitted his side simply weren’t clinical enough.

“We kept the ball and tried to play out from the back,” Odegaard said.

“We created some great chances that we have to put away. We didn’t, and they get goals out of nowhere really.

“Then it becomes a slightly uglier scoreline than it felt. We did a lot of good things, but we were not sharp enough in front of the goal.”