Martin Odegaard’s ankle injury is a ”significant” one that will rule him out of action “for a while”, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed.
The Arsenal captain limped off during Norway's Nations League win over Austria on 9 September after twisting his left ankle. He required the help of physios before leaving the pitch to receive further treatment.
Odegaard returned to Arsenal for an MRI scan and missed his side's win in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
“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,” Arteta said in Arsenal's pre-match press conference ahead of facing Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday.
“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."
How may Odegaard's absence affect Arsenal?
Even though Arsenal beat Spurs on Sunday without Odegaard, when analysing the stats since he joined in January 2021, there is a clear decline in the Gunners' win percentage without their inspirational midfielder.
When Odegaard has started, the club have won 66.4 per cent of their Premier League matches, but that figure falls to 55 per cent in the 20 matches where he has not started.
Arsenal’s attacking input also goes down in Odegaard’s absence. Their goals-per-match average falls from 2.1 when he starts to 1.6 when he doesn’t, while their shot average also decreases from 15.9 per 90 minutes to 13.
“He’s our captain - he’s one of our biggest players," Arteta added. "He’s been one of the most consistent players in the last two or three seasons. Our identity is very related to his way of playing and his way of behaving.
“We’re going to have to deal with [his absence] and that’s a great test for the team as well - how capable we are to show maybe a different face. The fact [is] we have other players and other options that can be very effective.”
Arsenal with/without Odegaard
| With Odegaard starting | Without Odegaard starting | |
| 116 | Matches | 20 |
| 77 | Wins | 11 |
| 17 | Draws | 2 |
| 22 | Losses | 7 |
| 243 | Goals for | 32 |
| 2.1 | Ave. goals for | 1.6 |
| 121 | Goals against | 19 |
| 1.0 | Ave. goals against | 1.0 |
| 66.4% | Win % | 55.0% |
| 2.1 | Points/90 | 1.8 |
| 15.9 | Shots/90 | 13.0 |
| 56.5% | Possession | 55.0% |
| 60.4 | Passes into final third/90 | 59.0 |
| 77.2% | Passing accuracy final third | 76.8% |
| 81.0% | Passing accuracy opp. half | 81.1% |
What matches will Odegaard miss?
Arteta did not provide a timeframe for Odegaard's return, but if the Norwegian were to be absent for six weeks, here is what he will miss.
After their Atalanta match, Arsenal have a huge encounter in the Premier League as they face title rivals Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
They then have three matches against teams in the lower half of the division, Leicester City and Southampton at home, and AFC Bournemouth away, before a crunch home match against the team immediately below them, Liverpool.
In among the Premier League matches, they have a home tie against League Two Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup third round next week, before two more UEFA Champions League fixtures at Emirates Stadium against Paris Saint-Germain (1 October) and Shakhtar Donetsk (22 October).