Theo Walcott blames ‘too comfortable’ Arsenal player for draw at Crystal Palace

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Former Arsenal player Theo Walcott has singled out one Arsenal player for blame in the team’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace last Wednesday.

Former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott believes that the team’s captain, Martin Odegaard, is “too comfortable” and needs to be challenged.

Walcott expressed his concerns about Odegaard’s current form, stating that the Norwegian playmaker hasn’t been at his best this season.

The 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace was a case in point, with Odegaard partially responsible for Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late equalizer.

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According to Walcott, Odegaard’s recent performances have been below par, and he believes that the Arsenal captain needs to be pushed harder to regain his form.

“Manchester City have been dominating the Premier League for many years, and they’ve had a poor season, but they could end up ahead of Arsenal,” Walcott told Sky Sports.

“There’s been certain situations in the season where there’s been discipline issues or referee decisions and injuries play their part. It just shows that certain players, going back to Odegaard, are starting to feel too comfortable and not being pushed a bit more.”

Arsenal has drawn 13 games in the Premier League this season, and their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain will be a crucial test.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that his team’s performance against Crystal Palace was not up to par, but he emphasized that the team has nearly a week to prepare for the big match.

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“We haven’t been able to see the games off for many reasons, and the margins have been too small,” Arteta said. “Sometimes that, sometimes credit to the opposition, it’s true that we’ve played five times with ten men.

There are a lot of factors, but obviously, it’s something that we’ve done much better in the past, especially when we’ve been ahead in games.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had an uncharacteristically shaky game against Crystal Palace, but Walcott exonerated him, stating that he’s been fantastic many times and is the type of character who can put mistakes behind him.

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