Martin Odegaard stepped up as Arsenal captain to defend his teammates in the clash with AC Milan. The Gunners took a two-goal lead going into half time with both coming from the Norwegian.
A direct free-kick gave Arsenal the lead and then Odegaard was fortunate to deflect a strike from Reiss Nelson to give the AC Milan goalkeeper no chance at saving the shot. Mikel Arteta will be happy with the performance but perhaps not what is happening on the field.
The Milan team has gone in hard on a number of occasions. Thomas Partey was brought down early in the first half due to a hard challenge from Aster Vranckx but thankfully got back to his feet.
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However, the Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali has been the real problem man in the middle. He has been charging into challenges and caught Fabio Vieira with a swaying arm which looked to catch the Portuguese midfielder in the face.
Odegaard came charging into the scene with Vieira down on the ground. Pulling the players away he shouted at his midfield opposite to protect his teammate and give the referee something to think about and directed his anger toward the Milan head coach Stefano Pioli.
"F***ing two times! It's a friendly" Odegaard shouted. football.london Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak, in the ground, could hear the Gunners skipper from the press box.
Arteta will be hoping his players escape these friendlies unscathed. He has Gabriel Jesus out for some time and is still waiting on Emile Smith Rowe and Oleksandr Zinchenko to return to full fitness.
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