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Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard was furious with Albert Sambi Lokonga last night

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Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat against Manchester City last night, and skipper Martin Odegaard was absolutely furious with Albert Sambi Lokonga towards the end of the game.

Mikel Arteta’s side actually played well at the Etihad yesterday, but they just couldn’t convert their chances. Pep Guardiola’s tactical switch to play two strikers up top in the second half changed things for Manchester City, and that helped them seal the game.

Odegaard had a go at Lokonga for his poor positioning in the final few minutes.

Manchester City v Arsenal: Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard was furious with Albert Sambi Lokonga

Both Martin Odegaard and Albert Sambi Lokonga started on Arsenal‘s bench last night. Arteta went with a midfield trio of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Fabio Vieira, but he was forced to make one change at half-time.

Partey was withdrawn at the break after hurting his ribs. Lokonga, previously branded as a ‘special’ player, was brought on, and to be fair to the young Belgian, he did well on the ball. However, his performance out of possession wasn’t quite up to the mark.

In the 91st minute of the game, Ilkay Gundogan found himself in a bit of space between Arsenal’s midfield and defensive line. Odegaard spotted that and screamed at Lokonga to get closer to the Manchester City star.

The Belgian, however, completely ignored that message, and Gundogan received the ball and held on to possession without any pressure.

The Arsenal captain, visibly annoyed, lifted his arms up in the air and shouted at Lokonga again. He then fouled the German and had another go – third time in about 10 seconds – at the Arsenal midfielder for his positioning.

That was really poor from Lokonga and he was really disappointed in the end. He was the first player to walk off the pitch and back to the dressing room after the full-time whistle was blown.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with Lokonga now if Arsenal go and sign a new midfielder in the coming days. Monaco are said to be interested in his services.

Martin Odegaard Albert Sambi Lokonga
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images