Odegaard’s reaction to Tomiyasu mistake vs Man City speaks volumes

Arsenal star Martin Odegaard shown his leadership skills by consoling Takehiro Tomiyasu after his mistake against Manchester City on Wednesday. The Gunners star gave the ball away to Kevin De Bruyne, with the Belgian then lifting it over Aaron Ramsdale to open the scoring. However, rather than berate him, the Japan international received words of encouragement from his skipper. 

Arsenal were on top during the early stages of the game against Manchester City, with Eddie Nketiah spurning a glorious chance to open the scoring. But the visitors went ahead through De Bruyne, with the Belgium international lifting the ball over Aaron Ramsdale.

Tomiyasu made a big error in the build-up to the goal, giving the ball straight to De Bruyne who did the rest. Yet Odegaard showed a touch of class in the immediate aftermath, rushing to console his team-mate and encouraging him to lift his chin up.

Pictures from Amazon show the Norway international, along with Aleksandr Zinchenko, going straight over to Tomiyasu.

“For us the challenge is to get to that level. We need to use that challenge and that energy. This is where we want to be. That is the level and we’re getting closer to it.”

And, on beating former mentor Pep Guardiola, he added: “For me it’s the team. The team, the club and where we are. For me beating one manager or another it’s not about that. It’s about beating the next opponent and in this case it’s Man City.”