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ARSENAL have suffered a major blow after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed captain Martin Odegaard’s ankle injury contains “significant” damage that will put him out for “a while”.
The Gunners skipper, 25, sustained the injury during the international break while playing for Norway.
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He missed Arsenal’s North London derby victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
And now head coach Arteta has confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time, though he did specify a return date.
Speaking ahead of his side’s Champions League opener against Atalanta on Thursday, he said: “After recent scans the scans showed that he’s got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle.
“It’s something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while.”
He went on to add: “He’s our captain. He’s been one of the biggest and best players in our team.
“Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It’s a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face.”
Odegaard scored 11 goals and assisted 11 more in 48 appearances for Arsenal last season.
He missed just three Premier League games in the 2023/24 campaign – one of which was a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle.
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Arsenal fans had been hoping the injury was a minor one, but are now concerned about the Norway international’s prolonged absence.
One said: “This doesn’t sound good to be honest.”
While another added: “I just fell to my knees.”
A third replied: “That’s him done until Christmas then! Massive loss that, our best player & captain.
“As [if] we couldn’t hate international break any more! He should never have gone with that knock; absolutely ridiculous.”
And a fourth responded: “😱… For a while sounds like forever. This isn’t good news at all. Get well soon captain 💪🏽.”
In the win over rivals Spurs at the weekend, Arteta switched from a 4-3-3 to more of a 4-4-2 formation.
Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard led the line, with a four-man midfield of Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli.
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