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No Ødegaard no problem! Mikel Arteta lines up possible replacement for Ødegaard and Declan Rice ahead of North London Derby after the captain sustained a nasty injury yesterday

Mikel Arteta will have hoped that his players would return from international duty in peak condition, but that does not appear to be the case.

Arsenal are already playing catch-up in the Premier League after surrendering two points against Brighton owing to Declan Rice’s red card, which had a significant impact on the game’s outcome.


Martin Odegaard has been one of Arsenal’s best performers this season, continually linking midfield to attack and generating opportunities despite not scoring or assisting.



However, he suffered an injury on international duty yesterday night in a match between Norway and Austria, and the early indicators are not promising.


It is thought that the attacking midfielder may be out for some time after being assisted off the pitch by Austrian Christoph Baumgartner, who was involved in a collision with Odegaard and twisted his ankle.



Leo Skiri Østigård, one of Odegaard’s Norwegian colleagues, has commented on his condition.


Leo Skiri Østigård discusses Arsenal player Martin Odegaard’s injury after being substituted in Norway vs Austria.
Leo Skiri Østigård began at the heart of Norway’s defence and played the full 90 minutes in their 2-1 win.

After the game, the centre defender spoke with NRK and was asked, “Martin Odegaard’s injury, how does he handle it?”

The defender responded, “It didn’t look good. We sincerely hope that it passes fast and that he returns for both Arsenal and ourselves.”

The interview continued, and he was plainly upset with what had occurred to his colleague.

The journalist asked him, ‘It appeared like there was a lot of frustration there?’

He said, “I believe there were many unusual things there. I would like to have a duel against the guy who took “Ødda” and told him what it’s like to get one back.

The interviewer then asked, “What would have happened then?”

Østigård said, “I’m not going to say it here.”

Where does this leave Arsenal?
Mikel Arteta will be praying that Odegaard’s injury is not as severe as many believe.

Odegaard has already been backed by William Saliba to have more assists than Bukayo Saka this season, but that won’t be easy if he is sidelined.

With the North London derby coming up against Tottenham, Arteta may be forced to make some difficult team selection decisions.

Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus are obvious choices, but it won’t be as simple as slipping them into the lineup because he still needs to figure out what to do in Rice’s absence.

There have been suggestions that Kai Havertz will play in midfield and Raheem Sterling will play up front, but if Odegaard is ruled out, the Gunners will need another midfielder.

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