Mikel Arteta has been dealt a major injury blow ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur – and he’ll already be regretting the decision to offload Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira. Ange Postecoglou shall host the Gunners on Sunday afternoon in what is expected to be a fiery north London derby.
Arsenal head into the tie following a controversial draw to Brighton, meanwhile, Tottenham will hope to return to winning ways after a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United. Not only will Arteta be without Declan Rice due to suspension, but Martin Odegaard may also be absent.
Arsenal injury news ahead of Tottenham after Riccardo Calafiori worry and Martin Odegaard update
The 25-year-old midfielder suffered an injury during a Nations League match against Austria on Monday night. While battling for possession with Christoph Baumgartner, Odegaard appeared to sprain his ankle.
The Norway captain received on-field treatment from medical staff before he rose to his feet. Teary-eyed, Odegaard was consoled by his teammates as he was helped off the pitch, with Erling Haaland being the first to comfort his fellow countryman.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Stale Solbakken made a subtle remark about Arteta when quizzed on the playmaker’s knock. As quoted by the Mirror, the Norway boss said: “It looked bad in the dressing room too. He didn’t have the nerve to continue. It is not certain that Arteta will call me tonight and praise me.”
Then, in an interview on TV2, the Norway doctor provided an update. Ola Sand said: “He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow.”
As it stands, the severity of the ankle injury remains to be seen until the scan results are revealed. Nevertheless, the injury casts significant doubt over whether or not Odegaard will be fit to feature against Tottenham at the weekend.
With the Norwegian in a race against time to prepare for the north London derby, Arteta will be wondering why on earth Arsenal offloaded Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira – or at least didn’t sign a new striker. While Fulham didn’t disclose the total fee, football.london understands that the Cottagers paid an initial £27m for the Hale End graduate.
It’s believed that the deal could rise to £34m with add-ons, and a sell-on clause has been included. Then, in the final days of the summer transfer window, the Gunners sent Fabio Vieira back to Porto on loan – just two years after arriving at the Emirates Stadium in a deal worth £34m!
Either of the two would’ve been perfect stand-ins for Odegaard in such a hostile fixture, yet they were both bizarrely offloaded. While, of course, Arsenal signed Mikel Merino, he’s injured; as for Ethan Nwaneri, Arteta may be forced to throw him into the deep end.
Had the Gunners even signed a new striker, like many expected, Kai Havertz would’ve been able to cover for his captain in the middle of the park. Ultimately, Arsenal have a brilliant starting lineup and strong couple of substitutes, but, as soon as players begin to pick up injuries, they look worryingly thin.
Had Edu not offloaded one of Smith Rowe or Vieira and signed another midfielder in the summer, Arsenal would still be well-positioned to defeat Tottenham in the north London derby. Now, the tie hangs in the balance.
