Mikel Arteta said that it would be a “surprise” for Martin Odegaard to return before the October international break but the Arsenal captain’s injury would be “a matter of weeks”.
The north London side have been without Odegaard, 25, since he injured his ankle for Norway against Austria on September 9 with Arteta saying last week that the Norway international will be out “for a while.”
When asked for a more precise time frame for Odegaard’s return and whether there was a possibility that he could return before the October international break, the Arsenal boss said: “No (new time frame), but I think it will be a matter of weeks. How long exactly, I cannot tell you. We might get a surprise (before the international break) but I think it’s unlikely.”
Several players also went down seemingly with cramp in their 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday, and asked what shape his squad is in, Arteta said: “I always prefer the facts over words or supposing things, so let’s see who is available tomorrow and then we can talk about it. Unfortunately, there will be a few players unavailable.”
David Raya is a player of concern after he was seen leaving the Etihad with bandaging on his leg. Arsenal goalkeeper Neto, who joined the club from Bournemouth on a season-long loan on deadline day, cannot play against Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the Carabao Cup tomorrow having played in the competition already this season for Bournemouth last month.
Asked whether he would be concerned about playing 16-year-old Jack Porter in goal, with 18-year-old Tommy Setford also nursing a hip injury, Arteta added: “Let’s see how they are today and we will try to make a call on that, if we believe that is a possibility.”
The Arsenal manager also gave an update on Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has been out with a calf injury since the September break, saying: “I think he will still be out for a few weeks.”
The draw at Manchester City ended a week of three successive away matches for Arsenal, in which they also faced Tottenham Hotspur and Atalanta. This was viewed has a major week for Arsenal before the season started, a sentiment that only grew after injuries to Odegaard, Zinchenko, Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
On his side coming through these games in the manner they did, Arteta said: “ (I am) Extremely proud. I think the desire that the team has to compete in any context and to adapt to different ways of playing and handle that emotionally and physically, is superb.
“Happy? No. But understanding how difficult that context is and what we had to deal with and as well with the players we had out, it was a significant improvement. But not happy because we want to win.
“We had to play the game that we had to play (against City). The first 10, 15 minutes, we couldn’t with 11vs11. Then we got much better. Then we were thrown in a very different context and did what every team does. They played 30 seconds with 10 men. Look what they did for 30 seconds. It’s normal what they did. We had to do it in a different way.
“We learnt from the past. Unfortunately, we’ve been in the same situation a few times. We were in that same situation with Granit (Xhaka) after 38 minutes and we lost 5-0. We’d better learn. If not I would be thick, very thick.”
Arsenal’s next four matches are at home against Bolton, Leicester, Paris Saint-Germain before the October international break.
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
