Martin Ødegaard went straight to the point after Arsenal's Carabao Cup exit to Fleetwood Town. “It’s very frustrating to go out,” he said, adding that the performance was “not on the level” and that the team “need to do much, much better.”
We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. Odegaard's line after the penalty defeat was that Arsenal must move on quickly, because Liverpool are waiting at Anfield this weekend. The club sit second in the Premier League with 21 points from 8 matches, so the cup upset lands in the middle of a strong domestic run rather than at the end of a crisis.
Arsenal's reaction after the cup exit
The scale of the upset is hard to miss. Fleetwood Town, a Sky Bet League Two side, knocked Arsenal out on penalties after Mikel Arteta made nine alterations to his team. Odegaard said Arsenal improved during the game, but he still wanted more from the side and said they had to “step up even more.”
Arteta accepted the result and praised the opponents, saying Arsenal were “extremely sad” but needed to congratulate Fleetwood. That leaves the focus on the next game, with Anfield the immediate test and no room for Arsenal to linger on a defeat that should have been avoidable.
What the numbers say about Odegaard's role
The captain's authority matters here because his output this season has been modest in front of goal, with 2 Premier League goals in 8 appearances. He has also played 652 Premier League minutes, which shows how central he remains to Arsenal's rhythm even when the goals do not follow.
The rotation debate will stay in the background, but the main point is simpler. Arsenal need a cleaner response at Liverpool, and Odegaard has already told them what that should look like.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
