Mikel Arteta has said that Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out “for a while” after sustaining an ankle ligament injury.
Odegaard, 25, sustained the injury during Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria last week and missed his side’s north London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday as a result.
The Arsenal manager confirmed that after undergoing a series of scans, the Norway international is set for a spell on the sidelines after damaging ligaments in his ankle.
“After a recent scan, he has some damage on one of the ligaments in the ankle,” Arteta said. “We are going to miss him. It is something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months.”
Arteta added: “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.”
Odegaard’s absence is a significant blow for Arsenal in the midst of a challenging run of fixtures.
Arsenal begin their Champions League campaign against Atalanta on Thursday before returning to Premier League action against Manchester City at the Etihad on September 22.
Depending on Odegaard’s recovery time, he will miss multiple Champions League games, with Arsenal facing French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium on October 1. They will host Shakhtar Donetsk on October 22 and travel to Inter Milan on November 6.
New signing Mikel Merino, who joined from Real Sociedad in a €32.5million (£27.4m) move in the summer, is out for up to a month after sustaining a shoulder injury in an innocuous coming together in his first training session with the squad.
Odegaard joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2021 and has made 156 appearances for the club, scoring 35 goals and adding 25 assists.
He has been named in the PFA team of the season for the past two years running, having played in all but four of Arsenal’s top-flight games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Arteta also confirmed that winger Bukayo Saka is likely to play a part in the game against Atalanta, while Riccardo Calafiori is also in the squad.
Saka, 23, played 86 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur during Sunday’s victory before being forced off, with Arteta explaining he “could not continue”.
The Arsenal manager had reshuffled his forward line just six minutes earlier with the introduction of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, before 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri came on in Saka’s place.
Arteta said: “He was able to train today and complete most of the session so he should be fine.”
Saka has started all four of Arsenal’s Premier League matches this season, providing a goal and four assists.
How could Arsenal line up in midfield?
Analysis from Art de Roche
In moments such as these, it is not uncommon for Mikel 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.
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
