Just six days before their derby against Tottenham, Arsenal suffered a potentially devastating setback when Martin Odegaard was hurt while serving in Norway. 

After a sliding tackle by Christoph Baumgartner, the playmaker hurt his ankle and had to be substituted 67 minutes into Norway’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Austria.  

He looked to be in excruciating pain as he rolled around on the ground and needed assistance from a physiotherapist on either side as he hobbled away, squinting in discomfort and holding back tears. 

As Odegaard staggered away, teammates consoled him by patting him on the back, including Erling Haaland of Manchester City, who scored the game’s winning goal in the 80th minute. 

Head coach of Norway Stale Solbakken commented, “Martin Odegaard’s injury looked bad in the dressing room.”

Martin Odegaard was taken off with an ankle injury on Norway duty in a blow for Arsenal

The midfielder appeared to be in agony after a slide tackle from Christoph Baumgartner

Among the players consoling Odegaard, who appeared to be crying, was Erling Haaland. 

“He has a minor ankle sprain,” TV2’s Ola Sand, the national team’s physician, stated. We’ll see; perhaps an ultrasound will be used to examine it.

“There will be an MRI tomorrow if we are unsure.”

Depending on how bad the injury is, Mikel Arteta might have a lot of headaches in the midfield. 

Declan Rice, who received a dubious red card against Brighton, is suspended for the match, and Mikel Merino, a £33 million summer acquisition, is also out injured. 

Merino broke his shoulder during his first practice, therefore Arteta might start in midfield against Spurs alongside Jorginho and Thomas Partey. 

The Arsenal are experiencing a more serious injury crisis, and they are also lamenting the bizarre injury to £42 million player Riccardo Calafiori.

Following a challenge from Alessandro Bastoni, the left-back was unintentionally studded on his ankle by Ousmane Dembele. As a result, he had to leave the Italy international camp. 

Tottenham has four points from their three games, while Arsenal, after two wins and a tie, is ranked fourth in the standings. 

Mikel Arteta is facing a mountain issue after blows to Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori.

Norway went on to win the match 2-1 but there were huge concerns for Odegaard .

In addition to Spurs, they have matches in the EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers, the Champions League against Atalanta, and the Premier League against Manchester City. 

An early-season injury emergency is the last thing Arteta needed after failing to win a championship with City in the previous two seasons. 

One admirer posted on X, the former Twitter platform, saying, “FFS, he’s completely rolled his ankle, that looked painful.” 

‘Odegaard, Rice, and now Marino. Another projected that Partey and Jorginho would be the NLD’s centre mids. 

Another replied, “Our season might very well be over.” Odegaard, Rice, and now Marino. We’re f****d.

We’re done, one of them declared.