In happier times, the hinging of Martin Odegaard’s left ankle tends to precede an audacious flick or a stealthily disguised through ball. The kind of flash of skill that has Arsenal supporters upon their feet.
Yet the sight of the joint buckling as the midfielder played for Norway on Monday has drawn a very different focus. Those same fans have now been been left fretting at the memory of the ankle giving way in Oslo, leaving Odegaard prone and visibly distrssed out on the turf, with their concern dominating the build-up to Sunday’s north London derby.
“Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens,” is all Mikel Arteta would give away on Friday over the severity of the injury, other than to say more tests were needed before Arsenal could be certain on the timescale of the captain’s absence — short-term, long-term or somewhere in between.
It is only the second week of September. Arsenal have only dropped two points in their opening three games, largely down to Declan Rice’s harsh red card in the game at home to Brighton. Panicking at this stage, even about potentially losing the league’s best creator for the last year, would be hysterical.
Yet, for the first time in a long while, there is a slight hint of foreboding unsettling the club heading into the game against Tottenham.
Eclipsing their points total in each of the last five seasons has given rise to the belief that Arsenal are on an interminable upwards trajectory. But the thought of a lengthy lay-off for Odegaard has served as a reminder that they remain fragile when it comes to a handful of key, understudy-less players.
Odegaard is so integral to so many phases of Arsenal’s play, particularly down the right flank from where so much of their damage is inflicted. Not only that, his absence coincides with those of fellow first-choice midfielders Mikel Merino and Rice this weekend at the very start of an eight-game run in which Arsenal face five of last season’s top seven.
The combination of a weakened team and a daunting autumn schedule means a ship that seemed to be sailing serenely is suddenly taking on water.
“Day by day, guys,” said Arteta on Friday, laughing off any sense of jeopardy. “If we look where we’re going to be at the end of May and the amount of games that we have to play and the level and the challenges ahead, we cannot think like this. We’re going to run out of oxygen.
“I want to have the energy and enthusiasm for the next day, the next game and prepare that in the best possible way and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go to Spurs with unbelievable energy and believe that we’re going to go there to be ourselves and try to win the game.”
Last season, Arsenal had to deal with the early setbacks of being without Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey but they had the best injury incidence rate in the Premier League with just 5.1 per 1,000 minutes, according to injury tracking website Premier Injuries.
None of their key players were missing for lengthy periods but, this season, that good fortune looks to have turned already — and just as they opted for a leaner squad, too.
That has been the hallmark of Pep Guardiola’s management at Manchester City, and has not hampered their pursuit of Premier League titles in recent years. But the departures of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe to Crystal Palace and Fulham, plus the late loan exits of Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira, mean that the injuries have suddenly left Arsenal exposed.
If Odegaard misses out, they only have Partey, Jorginho and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri as primary midfield options. Kai Havertz is likely to drop into midfield with Gabriel Jesus back training and available to take his place up front. But there will be some form of creative thinking required whether that be a change of shape to play with a double pivot, a teenager given his full debut, or the conversion of a full-back or winger into a No 8 for the day.
“Yes, it (the squad) can be bigger, but we have certain limitations that we know about,” said Arteta. “We have to do certain things and certain transactions because certain players had our time with us and they needed a new challenge in their career. We have signed a few players, it’s been a bit different to the previous years, but I’m really happy with the quality and the squad.
“There are certain things that we cannot control and what happened in the last two weeks is extremely unlucky. We have to face it, but hopefully during the season it will be very different.”
Sunday’s derby against Tottenham is one of three away games this week with the Champions League opener against Atalanta followed by a trip to the Etihad to take on the Premier League champions three days later.
In December, Arsenal do not leave London but, up to then, their run include awkward games at home to Liverpool and away at Newcastle and Chelsea before they reach safer ground.
It is Manchester City’s record of four titles in five years, and the dread that any dropped points could be decisive, which creates such angst this early in the season.
After the first run at the title in 2022-23 petered out at the last, Arsenal learned they had to be able to go flat out until the final bell. The second, in 2023-24, taught them they could not afford to take half a season to reach top gear.
This has to be the year they perfect their pace without any mini slumps.
That did not look to be a problem as there was no recalibrating of the team dynamic required like last season, when Havertz and Rice had to be integrated into the setup. This window was about finishing touches, polishing the squad with the addition of Italy’s latest windswept defender and a Basque midfielder cut from the same minerals as his manager.
An injury to Merino in his first week, a red card to Rice and the potential sidelining of their talismanic captain has quickly put a different complexion on a two-month period that was already looking like a litmus test.
It is why momentum in football remains a mysterious phenomenon. Lose at Tottenham and next weekend’s visit to City looks ominous. Win and Arteta becomes the first Arsenal manager to claim victory in three successive away games against their local rivals in the Premier League era, changing the mentality completely.
“That sets the tone in many moments in the season when you play those big matches, (on) big stages — there’s a lot at stake, it’s a very emotional game as well,” said Arteta.
“When you are able to perform, able to deliver and win those games, it’s a huge boost. We know that and that’s why we’re going to try so hard.”
(Top photo: Annelie Cracchiolo/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
