Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided a fresh injury update on Martin Odegaard following the club’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The Gunners returned to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over their north London rivals on Sunday. They went into the game with a weakened squad with the likes of Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko sidelined with injury concerns.
Declan Rice was also suspended for the derby. Despite this, they secured maximum points from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. Gabriel Magalhaes scored the solitary goal after he was handed a free header in the box from a corner in the 64th minute.
Speaking after the game, Arteta was presented with several questions by reporters and one of those was focused on Odegaard, who did not make the trip due to an ankle injury sustained on Nations League duty with Norway against Austria earlier in the week.
Arteta said via the club’s official website: “Regarding Martin, we still have to wait and see the news. He certainly wasn’t available to play today [Sunday].”
Arsenal struggled for control in the centre of the park in the absence of Rice and Odegaard. Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz were good in winning their duels, but Jorginho had a tough outing and he was guilty of losing possession in key phases of the derby.
The Italian managed to win just two ground and aerial duels. He is most likely to drop to the bench for the upcoming Champions League game at Atalanta on Thursday. Rice is certain to return to the XI and there could be more changes made by the manager.
Arsenal have a short turnaround time of less than 72 hours before the trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Sunday. This could urge Arteta to rotate his options. Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling could also be included in the starting line-up.
Stats from Sofascore.com
