24 October 2023 , 19:37
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Arsenal fans have aired their frustrations on social media after Sevilla fans shone a green laser at the face of Martin Odegaard ahead of their Champions League clash.
The Gunners captain, 24, and his teammates have travelled to Spain off the back of a defeat to RC Lens last time out in Group B. However, fans were left furious after spotting fans targeting Odegaard during the pre-match warm-ups with a green laser.
The incident, which quickly went viral, is identical to scenes involving Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, who was also targeted by lasers as he waited to take a crucial late penalty for the Netherlands earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, he condemned the dangerous act after the match against Greece.
The veteran defender, who also criticised the state of the pitch, told reporters: "Have you seen the pitch? Terrible. It's unbelievable that this is still allowed at this level. You can't let us play on that, can you? That's really a shame. We created chances with the [first] penalty and a couple of times on the counter," he said.
"At the end, they threw on two extra strikers and gave us problems, but the penalty went in and we got over the line. And for that penalty, I had all kinds of laser pointers pointed at my eyes."
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Arsenal made the perfect return after a multi-year absence from the Champions League with a 4-0 thrashing of PSV but were stunned by RC Lens in France last time out in Europe.
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Mikel Arteta made it clear, though, that Arsenal have learned their lessons from that match and is confident that they won't be giving up any more easy points on the road in their bid to challenge for a maiden European title.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said of the Lens defeat: "There were a few from that game, especially that in the Champions League you cannot give anything away.
"Both boxes are tremendously important to have control of the game, and there are going to be moments that can get away very quickly. You have to understand why this is happening and how the game went away from us, but there was a lot in our side. To lose the game the way we did, even though looking about two times, we didn’t deserve that result."