Ian Wright says £240k-a-week Arsenal player is ‘not quite himself’ right now

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and his coaches have some thinking to do as the international break gets under way.

The Gunners started the Premier League season brightly, with two wins in their opening games, but then dropped two points in their meeting with Brighton.

Arsenal had taken the lead in the 38th minute thanks to a superb Kai Havertz goal from outside the box.

However, Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card on 49 minutes after ‘denying a restart’ against the Seagulls after he got tangled up with Joel Veltman.

Nine minutes later, Brighton were level as Joao Pedro fired home on the rebound from a saved Yankuba Minteh strike.

Arsenal were wasteful in the encounter, with Ian Wright sharing his concerns about one of the players looking below-par in the match.

Ian Wright worried about Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard

The player in question is Martin Odegaard, who was on the receiving end of a Minteh tackle and wasn’t the same afterwards.

Wright, speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast, said the £240,000-a-week ace (Spotrac) looked “a little bit off-form”, though he acknowledged the tackle may have played a part.

“I thought Odegaard was a little bit off-form, just a little bit not quite himself,” said the Highbury icon.

Co-host Ryan Hunn suggested the Arsenal captain may have suffered a knock, something Wright agreed with.

“Even in the first half when the ball came across for him to volley in, he didn’t take it very well,” added Wright.

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How the media rated Odegaard display against Brighton

Football.london gave the Norway international a 6 out of 10 for his efforts against the Seagulls.

“Started superbly linking down the right wing with Saka,” they wrote.

“Seemed to struggle after being on the end of a nasty tackle from Minteh and never looked the same after that.”

Likewise, the Evening Standard gave him a 6, writing: “Took a few kicks early on and never looked quite right after that.

“Struggled to get into the game and influence it like he can.”

Goal.com also awarded Odegaard a 6 out of 10 and spoke how the hits he took affected his game.

“Took a hit early on and was clearly struggling after that,” they wrote.

“Never looked comfortable and was unable to dictate like usual.”

What next for Odegaard?

Arsenal fans will be anxiously keeping tabs on how their captain fares on international duty.

Odegaard is in the Norway squad for the Nations League meetings against Kazakhstan and Austria over the coming 10 days.