Arsenal could be without three key midfielders for Sunday’s North London Derby after Martin Odegaard was substituted with an injury while playing for Norway.
Mikel Arteta already knows he will be without Declan Rice after he picked up a red card against Brighton, making Odegaard’s potential absence all the more concerning.
Meanwhile, Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino is also out with a shoulder injury having not played a minute since signing from Real Sociedad last summer.
The Gunners have already dropped points in their hunt to finally topple Manchester City, drawing 1-1 in the match against Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls, and head to the Etihad to face Pep Guardiola’s side the Sunday after they visit Tottenham.
What we know about Martin Odegaard’s injury so far
In the 67th minute of Norway’s eventual 2-1 Nations League win over Austria, Odegaard was slide-tackled by RB Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner.
He instantly appeared in pain, rolling around on the floor while grabbing his ankle.
Two team physios then treated him on the pitch before carrying him off, with the Norway captain clearly limping when walking unaided and appearing to hold back tears.
Post-match, Norway manager Stale Solbakken said: “It looked bad in the changing room. He had no chance of continuing. I’m not sure Arteta will call me tonight and praise me.”
And the Norwegian team doctor Ola Sand explained: “Martin is doing quite well now. He got a small ankle sprain. We will see throughout the evening and tomorrow what happens next and what we will do about it.
“Ankle sprains are difficult to deal with straight away, so we almost have to see how things go forward. We will examine him when we are back at the hotel. Maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow.”
Will Martin Odegaard miss the North London Derby?
This entirely depends on the severity of the ankle sprain.
In the least severe cases, players can recover from an ankle sprain in anything from two to 10 days, with Arsenal’s crucial match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium coming six days after Odegaard’s injury.
However, if it is a second- or third-degree sprain, players can miss anywhere from a couple of weeks to three months as they wait for the ligaments to heal.
It is worth saying it is unlikely Odegaard’s injury is quite so serious given the situation in which he sustained it, but it would still have to be as minor as possible to give him time to recover and train pre-Spurs.
However, as he was also substituted against Brighton after a “couple of knocks”, it is possible Arteta and Arsenal decide to exercise caution this weekend.
An injury any longer than a week could have a massive impact on Arsenal’s season, as they face three crucial matches in seven days, starting at Spurs before visiting Atalanta in their Champions League opener and heading to the Etihad the following Sunday.
As Sand called it a “small ankle sprain”, it is much more likely he misses one-to-three weeks, especially with the capabilities of Arsenal’s medical department, and there are painkilling injections he may be able to have to play on Sunday.
Arsenal’s doctors were already in contact with their Norwegian counterparts on Monday evening and Odegaard will return to north London to be assessed by the club on Tuesday.
How Arsenal can replace Martin Odegaard
In short, this isn’t easy. Odegaard is a crucial figure for Arsenal and with Rice, Merino and even left-back Riccardo Calafiori now absent for Sunday’s game, the Gunners are thin on the ground.
Arteta’s hopes should be boosted against Spurs by the return of Gabriel Jesus, who could allow Kai Havertz to slip into Odegaard’s midfield role.
Another option would be 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, a highly-rated academy talent who is still the youngest player to play in the Premier League having made his debut aged 15.
This would be a massive step up for Nwaneri in a hugely pressured situation, but with Merino and Rice also injured, Arteta may have little choice.