Odegaard insists Arsenal not at their best against Everton 

 

Martin Odegaard insisted Arsenal only blamed themselves for Monday night’s 2-1 defeat to Everton, claiming they were ‘not at the level they should be’.

The Gunners led through the 22-year-old at the end of the first half, but conceded twice as the Toffees secured their first win since September.

Mikel Arteta’s side withered as Richarlison equalized in the second half before Demarai Gray’s screamer took all three points for the Blues in the 92nd minute.

The defeat at Goodison was Arsenal’s third consecutive loss, forcing them to catch up in the race for the top four after a struggle against Manchester United.

After the match, Odegaard criticized his side’s performance and insisted they should do better.

‘It’s hard to take. I think in general we were not at the level we should have today,” Odegaard told Sky Sports.

“We’ve had some good moments, but we need to do a lot better. We should have been better.

‘It’s hard to say. That’s just how it is sometimes. It’s hard to say exactly what happened.

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“We have to do better when we have that lead. We stopped playing and gave them the game they wanted to play.”

The Gunners also lost the lead last week during their trip to Old Trafford. Emile Smith Rowe opened the scoring before Odegaard equalized in the second half, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s second of the evening gave United the win.

When asked if Arsenal’s habit of giving up a lead was a mentality issue, the midfielder said: “I think so.