Mikel Arteta has plenty of thinking to do this week after Martin Odegaard was forced off with an injury for Norway against Austria on Monday.
The midfielder appeared to twist his ankle, and although the severity is not known yet, the fact he needed support to leave the pitch has put his availability for the weekend’s north London derby in doubt.
Should he be unavailable, Arsenal will be without arguably their three first-choice midfielders. Declan Rice is suspended after his sending-off against Brighton & Hove Albion, while Mikel Merino is still on the mend after sustaining a shoulder injury in his first training session at the club.
The situation will no doubt cause an unwanted headache for Arteta in a week when Arsenal travel to Atalanta and Manchester City after they face Spurs away. With solutions needed, The Athletic assesses what Arteta could do on Sunday.
The likely option…
In moments such as these, it is not uncommon for Arteta to rely on his most experienced squad members.
When Odegaard missed three games with a hip injury last autumn, Kai Havertz started all three games at right-sided No 8, while Jorginho and Rice made up the rest of the midfield in two of the matches. Compared to when he was used as a left-sided No 8 at the start of the year, Rice was more reserved in his positioning at this point, sitting closer to Jorginho.
Should Arteta revert to this thinking, it would not be surprising to see Havertz and Joringho in midfield with Thomas Partey. Jorginho would be central, where he can look to dictate the tempo of the game, while Partey offers more protection and passing lanes to one side, with Havertz slightly more advanced.
The German did play as a No 10 for Germany against Hungary last week, behind Niclas Fullkrug, and performed well as a link between midfield and attack. With this in mind, a slight change from Arteta’s favoured 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 could suit this midfield more.
Should Gabriel Jesus not be available, Leandro Trossard can dovetail well with Havertz when used as a centre forward. The Belgian has performed well in that role, but struggled when used in midfield himself last season.
The left-field option
If Arteta wishes to keep that 4-3-3 intact, the Spaniard could try something he has not done in about three years: move Bukayo Saka infield. Although his game has taken off on the wing in recent years — he has hit double figures for goals in three successive seasons — Saka has produced standout performances in central midfield for Arsenal before.
He was first used there in the first team as a 19-year-old, away to Brighton & Hove Albion in June 2020. That afternoon he made surging runs to create chances down the left half-space but got his assist for Nicolas Pepe from the right half-space. Arteta used him in midfield more in the following season. His positioning was mostly focused in the left half-space again, with Kieran Tierney providing width at left wing-back, but he showed promise in the right half-space when used as a No 10 later that season.
These performances have remained in the memory for some, with the prospect of Saka returning to these spaces one day an exciting prospect. If Arteta did this, using him as a right-sided No 8 would likely make the most sense. Havertz has a strong dynamic with Trossard when he plays as a left-sided 8 and Saka has a strong understanding of the relationships that make Arsenal tick on the right — like with Ben White, for instance. Partey would likely keep his place at the base of midfield in this case.
Who would start on the right wing in Saka’s place? Raheem Sterling. Arsenal’s latest recruit has been training throughout the international break and although he may not have complete match sharpness, he can still pose a threat.
The full-backs starting in midfield option
This may work better in theory than in practice. While Oleksandr Zinchenko is a midfielder by trade, Arteta is yet to start him in any midfield role since he joined the club from Manchester City two summers ago.
There is no issue with him wandering into that area of the pitch unmarked, but compared to players who have been used in midfield, Zinchenko does not have the same physicality. Especially after the direction Arsenal’s midfield recruitment has taken with Rice and Merino — both 6ft 2in (188cm) and used as left-sided No 8s — it is hard to envisage Arteta opting for a midfielder in the north London derby that lacks physical presence.
Jurrien Timber has physical presence without towering height, but starting in midfield may be a step too far. When asked before the game against Aston Villa last month whether Timber could be an option in midfield, Arteta said in a press conference: “Yeah he is. He can play in various positions. His versatility is one of his biggest strengths. We missed him for 11 months. It’s great to have him back.”
Although Timber moved into midfield positions at Ajax, his inverting this season at Arsenal has not always been smooth. There are times when he does so to good effect, but others when he looks rushed in what quickly becomes a congested area of the pitch.
For that reason, it would be better for Arsenal to have an actual No 6 starting there, whether it be Partey or Jorginho.
The youth option
A first Premier League start for Ethan Nwaneri would be spectacular under any circumstances, but is even harder to see it coming in the north London derby than full-backs starting in midfield. That is not because of Nwaneri’s quality — he showed more personality in midfield than Fabio Vieira in pre-season — but simply because Arteta has not given the 17-year-old any minutes so far this season.
Cameos off the bench were likely unexpected in the first two league games, with the transfer of Merino being worked on in the background. That expectation, if it was there, would have shrunk on matchday three when Rice was sent off at such a delicate stage of the game. Nwaneri is the closest to the first team of any of the under-21s and a chance is surely on its way but it would be a major surprise if that came this weekend.
The position Arsenal find themselves in is exactly the one they had hoped to avoid heading into a significant week for their season, even at this very early stage. They planned for Odegaard, Rice and Merino to drive their title charge from midfield and have been dealt blows to each in a matter of two weeks of them working together.
Their squad building in recent years means they can still field a competitive midfield against Tottenham if Odegaard is unavailable, but that comes with the risk of the unknown. Since being named captain in July 2022, Odegaard has missed only four of a possible 79 league games. Three came last season and one the year before due to a different hip injury.
Odegaard was pictured boarding a plane back to London on Tuesday morning, initially on crutches but managing to step on without them, with further assessments expected upon return to Arsenal.
Art de Roché’s preferred XI without Odegaard: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Saka, Partey, Havertz; Sterling, Trossard, Martinelli (4-3-3)
What Art de Roché expects Arteta to do without Odegaard: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Jorginho, Partey; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli; Trossard (4-2-3-1)
(Top photo: Copa/Getty Images)
