The former Real Madrid man limped off during international duty after what appeared to be a worrying ankle injury. Arsenal supporters and Mikel Arteta will have been sweating over his fitness in the last few days as they prepare to face north London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League at the weekend.
Odegaard Could Miss Three Weeks
Norway's doctor provides update
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard
"Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks. Anything other than that is just a bonus. And then it can take longer."
It's also been confirmed that he's set to miss the game against Tottenham in what is a worrying update from Norway. Odegaard is Arsenal's captain, so having him unavailable for such an important fixture is going to be a huge blow for the Gunners. Sand also adds that Arsenal believes there is no 'breach', but he still believes the injury will take time...
"It is always a bit difficult to interpret an MR image when you have had an old injury. But Arsenal are almost certain there is no breach. But this may still take some time."
Arsenal are already going to be without Declan Rice after he picked up a red card against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, meaning Arteta is going to be short of options in the middle of the park.
Martin Odegaard's Premier League statistics - Arsenal squad ranking, 2023/24
Stats
Output
Squad rank
Appearances
35
=6th
Goals
8
4th
Assists
10
1st
Key Passes Per Game
2.9
1st
Shots Per Game
2.2
2nd
Match rating
7.37
3rd
Odegaard was spotted boarding a plane to England on Wednesday while walking with crutches, so it was always going to be tricky for him to recover in time for the weekend. Doctor Rajpal Brar analysed Odegaard's image, confirming that he was not wearing a protective boot, but he wasn't wearing a 'normal' shoe.
Norway appear confident that Odegaard shouldn't be involved this weekend, but it will be interesting to see how Arsenal view the situation.
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Kai Havertz may need to drop deeper
Havertz
With Rice and Odegaard out, Arteta will have some major decisions to make in the middle of the park. Mikel Merino, who was signed to strengthen Arsenal's midfield options, has already suffered an injury in training, so that's one less player who could come into midfield.
Thomas Partey is likely to start while Jorginho is also an option for the Gunners. In terms of replicating the role Odegaard plays, Arsenal don't have a like-for-like replacement, meaning we could see Kai Havertz drop into a deeper midfield role.
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