JAKARTA - Arsenal had to swallow the bitter pill. The leader of the English Premier League standings was eliminated from the Europa League.
Gabriel Martinelli's failed penalty shootout left the Gunners suffering defeat in the second leg of the last 16 at the Emirates Stadium. Both teams had to go through the penalty shootout after drawing 1-1, Friday, March 17 in the morning WIB.
The result saw Arsenal now fail to win one of their last five knockout games at home in the Europa League since beating Valencia in May 2019.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard assessed that his team did not display the best game in this match.
"I think we've done quite a lot in some gaming periods but most of our games weren't at the level they should be," Odegaard told BT Sport.
"Some of our games did well but, throughout the game, we didn't play our best football. It was a tight match in the end and could go both ways," he continued.
Odegaard admits Sporting is a good team. He knows very well the quality of the opponents he faces.
"We are ready, but I think it's more about us today. We don't play as usual, and we may not use the energy we usually do," he said.
Odegaard then urged Arsenal to "come back stronger" after being knocked out of the Europa League. Now, they just have to focus on the struggle to win the title in the domestic arena, namely the Premier League.
Currently, Arsenal are holding a five-point lead over Manchester City with 11 games remaining, and Odegaard wants his team to respond to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"It was disappointing, but now we have to look forward and prepare for Sunday (the Premier League)," said Odegaard.
"We have to remember it's been a great season, we've done great things this year. Of course, being knocked out of this competition is a big blow, it's a big goal for us, but we have to look forward now."
"We have to look at Sunday, come back stronger and make sure we finish the league well, that's the only thing we can do now. We win and lose together. It doesn't matter. When we win everyone is happy, when we lose we have to get up and down," he concluded.
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