Odegaard suffers "significant" ankle injury at Arsenal
While Arteta coped brilliantly without Arsenal's captain in their 1-0 North London Derby win away to Spurs last weekend, Odegaard was a sore creative miss during the Gunners' 0-0 draw away to Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday evening.
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In their bid to beat Man City and Pep Guardiola to the Premier League title this season, all the while ending their 21-year-wait for a league crown, Arteta will be privately hoping that their chief creator can return to action as soon as possible.
Odegaard injured his ankle on international duty with Norway, and was forced off with the issue during their 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Austria. Since then, Arteta has confirmed that the 25-year-old suffered "significant" ankle ligament damage and could be out for a while.
Martin Odegaard's all-time stats for Arsenal
Appearances
156
Goals
35
Assists
25
Yellow cards
12
Red cards
0
Minutes played
12,108
"The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him," said Arteta in an Odegaard injury update before Atalanta.
"It's something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months. He's our captain, he's been one of the biggest and best players in our team. Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It's a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face."
With Mikel Merino sidelined after a shoulder fracture, Odegaard's absence prompted Arteta to drop Kai Havertz back into midfield against Atalanta - as opposed to his usual makeshift centre-forward role where he has been very effective.
Merino-Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus started up top in Bergamo, with Arsenal struggling to match their usual attacking prowess. Some reports have even claimed that Odegaard could be out till Christmas, but these initial fears have been somewhat put to bed by GiveMeSport.
Martin Odegaard could return for Arsenal in six weeks
As per their information, Arsenal are hopeful that Odegaard could return within six weeks, and potentially for their all-important clash against Liverpool on October 27.
Indeed, it is believed that Arteta's side are optimistic over their midfielder returning late next month or early November, but there is also caution, as Arsenal are fully aware Odegaard may take even longer to get back to full fitness.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard
In the meantime, Arsenal are gearing up for a crucial encounter against Man City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, and it will be very interesting to see how Arteta sets up his side in one of their most testing matches of the season.
The £240,000-per-week star bagged eight goals and 10 assists last campaign, helping to push City all the way to the final day as Arsenal finished 23/24 with 89 points.
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