Christoph Baumgartner has apologised to Martin Odegaard after injuring the midfielder during Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria.
The Arsenal captain was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury on Monday evening, just six days before the derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta’s squad is already missing Declan Rice, who was suspended following his red card in last month’s 1-1 draw with Brighton. With the midfield options limited, fans have voiced their frustration over Baumgartner’s tackle.
In response, the RB Leipzig player has taken to social media to clarify his intentions. “Hi guys! I want to sincerely apologize to Martin Ødegaard,” the 25-year-old said. “It was never my intention to injure him. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he comes back stronger.”
Norwegian defender Leo Østigard has also criticized Baumgartner, describing the tackle as ‘strange’.
“I think there were a lot of unusual things happening,” Ostigard told NRK.
“I would have liked to face the player who injured Ødegaard and show him what it feels like to get one back.”
When asked for more details, Ostigard declined to elaborate further.
He was also questioned about the severity of the injury to the Arsenal star, to which he responded, “It wasn’t very good.”
After falling just short of the title to Manchester City last season, the Gunners are determined to challenge the reigning champions once more.
“Looking at all the statistics and the team’s performance over the past 11 months, we should have won it,” Arteta said last month. “That’s what the data indicates. The reality is we didn’t, which means there are aspects we haven’t managed as effectively as Man City or other clubs in the past.
We understand where those margins lie and believe we have made significant progress.”
