"Not this evening" - Chris Sutton says Arsenal star lacked composure in 3-0 Crystal Palace defeat

Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton believes Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard wasn't his usual composed self during the loss against Crystal Palace.

The Gunners fell to a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Selhurst Park in the Premier League last night (April 4). First-half strikes from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew and a late penalty from Wilfried Zaha subjected Arsenal to just their second defeat in eight matches.

Odegaard, who has impressed in midfield this term for Mikel Arteta's side, endured a rough outing against the Eagles.

He spurned a glorious chance to halve the two-goal deficit in the first half before carelessly clipping Zaha's heels in the box in the build-up to Palace's third goal.

Sutton, who won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers back in the 1994-95 season, feels the Norwegian lacked composure during the match against Palace. He told BBC Radio 5 Live after the contest (as quoted by HITC):

"A lack of composure from Martin Odegaard. I would always describe him as a composed player, but not this evening."

Odegaard surprisingly completed just 82% of his passes against the Eagles, without recording a single key pass or shot on target (as per Sofascore).

He was stifled by the hosts' physical and organized midfield and committed a few uncharacteristic errors as well.

---

Martin Odegaard remains key to Arsenal's top-4 hopes

The defeat to Crystal Palace meant fifth-placed Arsenal missed their chance to reclaim fourth spot in the Premier League standings from Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs, who thrashed Newcastle United 5-1 earlier in the gameweek, are level on points with the Gunners but boast a better goal difference.

However, Arteta's troops still have a game in hand over their north London rivals and a fair chunk of the season is still yet to be played.

They also have to visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the end of the season in a match that could define the race for fourth spot.

Consequently, Arsenal will hope Odegaard recovers his mojo after a below-par outing against Palace. The 23-year-old has been one of their best players this season and is likely to play a key role in the matches that remain.

Overall, Odegaard has managed five goals and four assists in 31 matches across all competitions for the Gunners in the ongoing campaign.