Arsenal wait nervously as injured Odegaard returns
Martin Odegaard suffering a bad injury has always been the big fear for me (and plenty of others) going into this season.
When I looked at Arsenal’s squad following the transfer window, proper cover for the captain was the one thing that seemed to be missing.
It was pretty clear that Arsenal were going to need a bit of luck in terms of injuries, especially in that right sided attacking role, but unfortunately it does not seem that luck is on their side right now.
Fresh from losing new signing Mikel Merino without him even kicking a ball for his new club and with Riccardo Calafiori suffering a calf issue while away with Italy, Odegaard has now joined the list of potential absentees.
Now, we don’t yet know the full extent of the ankle injury he picked up while playing for Norway against Austria on Monday night, but it’s tough to look at what happened and not expect him to be out for a fair while.
Odegaard is currently on his way back to London and Arsenal’s medical staff are waiting to asses him. Only once that has been done and the scan results have come through will we know just how long he could be sidelined for.
But it does look like a bad one and the pictures doing the rounds of him boarding his flight back to the UK using crutches are concerning.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, with away games at Spurs, Atalanta and Manchester City to come next week. The big question is what will Mikel Arteta do to cover the likely absence of his captain?
His options are pretty limited, especially with Merino out and Declan Rice suspended. Right now I’m leaning towards a slight rejig in system, with Jorginho and Thomas Partey playing as a midfield pair ahead of the two centre-backs and Kai Havertz playing in a No.10 role behind Leandro Trossard (or Gabriel Jesus, if he is deemed fit).
Obviously there has been a fair bit of anger from within the fanbase as to why Odegaard was allowed to link up with Norway in the first place, especially after he picked up that knock against Brighton last time out.
I get that, although ultimately the final decision is down to Odegaard of course. If he wants to go, then there is nothing Arsenal can do.
And clearly, as Norway captain, he did want to travel and play.
You do feel though that some sort of common sense could have been used. Did he really have to start both games? I’m sure that’s a question Arteta will be asking.
But what’s done is done. There is nothing Arsenal can do about it now. All that matters is that they try and find a way to make do without their captain during his upcoming lay-off.
They can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves. Arteta has to find a solution that works because two defeats at Spurs and City will leave them with a bit of a mountain to climb, even at this early stage of the season.
As I said, Arsenal are now waiting for Odegaard to arrive back at London Colney to assess the damage. I’ll be heading to the training ground on Friday for Arteta’s press conference where we might start to find out just how bad (or good) things are looking.
It might be a bit of a nervous wait until then.