Jermaine Pennant: The Pressure Is Too Much and Martin Ødegaard Has Been Hiding

Arsenal’s Champions League hopes now hang in the balance. Ninety minutes in Paris, ninety minutes to overturn a narrow 1-0 defeat to one of the most electric attacking teams in Europe. After a frustrating night at the Emirates against Paris Saint-Germain, former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant shared his take on what could prove to be the defining performance of the Gunners’ season.

A Missed Opportunity at Home

Arsenal were banking on the energy of their home crowd to power them to a strong first-leg result. Instead, an early strike from Ousmane Dembélé handed PSG a crucial away win and left the North London side facing an uphill battle in the return leg.

Pennant was full of praise for PSG’s composed and technically sound approach.

“PSG have been dominating possession and that’s how they’ve been playing throughout the competition. They kill the tempo, play their style and you can’t rattle them. You press them, and they just pass around you,” Pennant observed.

“They’ve got Dembele, Doue, Kvaratskhelia—all running at you. It’s relentless.”

The Absence of Thomas Partey

A notable absentee for Arsenal was midfield anchor Thomas Partey, suspended for the first leg. In his place came Mikel Merino, a player previously used further forward due to the squad’s striker shortage—something Pennant believes disrupted Arsenal’s rhythm.

“Partey was a big miss. Declan Rice had to drop deeper to compensate, and that changed everything. The way Arsenal played against Madrid was how they’d have liked to play PSG.”

“Where Dembele picked up the ball—right in that dangerous zone—that’s where Partey would have been. PSG were great, but Arsenal were nowhere near their best.”

Ødegaard Under Pressure

Club captain Martin Ødegaard has been under scrutiny for much of the season, particularly following the injury to Bukayo Saka which disrupted Arsenal’s attacking chemistry. Against PSG, the Norwegian struggled to assert himself—and Pennant didn’t hold back in his criticism.

“I think he’s rightfully under fire,” said Pennant. “He had a couple of great seasons, but that might’ve been his ceiling. He was scoring, assisting, linking up with Saka beautifully.”

“But this season? He’s been hiding. The pressure has clearly got to him. Against PSG, he wasn’t receiving the ball in the pockets like he usually does. He was dropping deep, playing sideways. That’s not Ødegaard.”

“You used to see him dominate games. Now he’s gone missing.”

All Eyes on Paris

Despite the first-leg setback, Arsenal have shown they can rise to the occasion—most notably in Madrid earlier in the campaign. But with PSG in top form, a captain under fire, and their midfield linchpin suspended for the home leg, the pressure in Paris will be immense.

Jermaine Pennant's message was clear: if Arsenal want to play in a Champions League final again, they'll need to rediscover their best selves quickly—and their captain will have to lead by example, not disappear when it matters most.