Gunners captain, Martin Odegaard will miss tomorrow’s clash at Atalanta because of an ankle injury.
The midfield ace picked up a nasty-looking sprain while on international duty with Norway and it looks as if initial optimism that it might be relatively minor has proven in vain.
Odegaard had already missed the north London derby win over Spurs last Sunday.
Speaking ahead of Thursday night’s Champions League opener, Mikel Arteta said:
After everything was scanned, they showed that there was some damage, especially in one of the ligaments in the ankle so we’re going to miss him. I don’t want to [put a timeframe on it] because I am not a doctor but it is something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while – hopefully not months but let’s see.
Barring a miracle, it seems likely Odegaard will also miss Sunday’s trip to Manchester City and could remain out for a few weeks after that, leaving the manager looking for solutions in an area of the pitch already struggling with the injury to Mikel Merino and the departure of Fabio Vieira.
Ethan Nwaneri anyone?
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