A strange Saka goal was finally what separated Bodø/Glimt and Arsenal on Thursday evening. Bodø/Glimt burned chance after chance, but the hosts were unable to push the ball over the goal line. Arsenal captain Ødegaard took his time with the Norwegian and British press after the 1-0 victory. While he praised the Norwegian hosts, he was also critical of Arsenal’s performance. Ødegaard believes Arsenal at times made it “a little too easy” for Glimt. – Different game – We are not at the level we should be, and both with and without the ball we do many things that we don’t usually do. So we weren’t quite at our best, and then of course it will be a little easier for them, says Ødegaard to news. – What do you think is the reason for that? – It is hard to say. They make it difficult for us, they are good with the ball. Especially the two stoppers and Patrick (Berg) are very good in the free play and do a lot well. So it’s difficult. Then of course it is different with artificial grass. There is a slightly different timing and speed of things, which is perhaps a bit unfamiliar, so that’s how it is, says the 23-year-old. WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: Here, Runar Espejord has just burned Bodø/Glimt’s third big chance in six minutes. The captain believed that excuses about the surface were the biggest trap Arsenal could fall into before the match. Ødegaard, who played on artificial grass for a long time, points out that it has been eight or nine years since he last played on the surface. – Yes, you notice it. Now that the match is over, it’s OK to say something, says Ødegaard with a smile and continues: – It’s a different game and a different tempo. The ball moves differently, the timing when to go into pressure, start, stop – and all that. Its different. It is clear, says Ødegaard. – I buy it Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also did not hide that it was an unfamiliar situation, but the Spaniard spent most of his time praising his opponent at the press conference after the match. Ola Solbakken points out that Glimt felt something of the same in London. BARKED TOGETHER: Ola Solbakken and Rob Holding. Photo: Mats Torbergsen / NTB – I don’t know how many times I have played on such a smooth grass mat as at the Emirates. The bounce is a little different there, too. I think they have had a good attitude, but I buy that there is a difference between playing on a smooth grass mat and on the artificial grass here. That’s it, says Solbakken to news. Glimt has obviously managed to take advantage of this difference in many home matches. – The ball goes extremely fast out there, and it is perhaps a little more difficult to stop when you get up to speed. There is definitely a difference, and we are aware that we may have an advantage in terms of that, says Berg and points out: – But I don’t think we would have been at the level we are at now if we had had a bad grass pitch this year round.
ttn-69
Warned of complaints – now Ødegaard reveals problems – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
