Mikel Arteta disclosed on Wednesday that Martin Odegaard will be sidelined for a “while” due to “significant” injury to an ankle ligament.
This is a serious setback for Arsenal ahead of their Sunday Premier League matchup with Manchester City.
It comes after injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mikel Merino, and Kieran Tierney, who will all also miss the game.
Last Monday, while on overseas duty for Norway, Captain Odegaard suffered an ankle injury. He was observed boarding an aircraft to return to London while using crutches.
Before Thursday night’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Atalanta, Arteta stated: “After everything was scanned, the scan showed he has got some damage, especially on one of the ankle ligaments.”
Mikel Arteta gave an update on Martin Odegaard’s injury at Wednesday’s pre-match presser
Odegaard’s ankle damage is more serious than initially believed, according to Arteta.
He will be missed by us. Since I’m not a doctor, I don’t want to (provide a timeline), but it’s something quite major, so he’ll be gone for a while.
Let’s see, hopefully not months. He is not just our captain but also one of our most important players.
Over the past two or three seasons, he has been among the most reliable players. His style of play and behaviour are closely linked to who we are. That will be something we have to deal with.
‘That is a great test for the team as well, of how capable we are to show maybe a different face and the fact we have other players and other options that can still be very effective.’
Arteta’s men did brilliantly in the absence of their skipper and the suspended Declan Rice at the weekend, coming away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points.
Defender Gabriel Magalhaes got the only goal of the game and Odegaard will be missing another huge game on Sunday when his side travel to face Man City at the Etihad.
Wednesday night sees City take on Inter Milan at home, while the Gunners will have one less day to rest following a demanding trip to Italy.
Is it a disadvantage that Odegaard hobbled off during Norway’s match versus Austria last week? Hopefully not, Arteta remarked. “Hopefully, the events of Sunday have also given us a lot of energy.” It was excellent. We are focussing on the advantages.
At Spurs, Bukayo Saka hobbled off, but Arteta had better news about the England striker.
“Yes, he trained today. He finished the majority of the session, and he is still available,” he stated.