Mikel Arteta issues update on Martin Odegaard, Ben White injuries

Arsenal’s head coach, Mikel Arteta, is optimistic that international break rest will permit the return of Martin Odegaard, who missed Saturday afternoon’s 3-1 victory over Burnley.

The Gunners captain has only appeared on the field once in their last five matches across all competitions, which was in the EFL Cup fourth round against West Ham United (3-1). In that match, he scored a consolation goal.

Odegaard was a hip injury-related unused substitute in a 5-0 victory over Sheffield United prior to that late interlude; he has since missed three consecutive matches with Newcastle United, Sevilla, and Burnley.

While Odegaard, who is 24 years old, has been called up to the Norway squad for November’s internationals against Scotland and the Faroe Islands, Lions manager Stale Solbakken has admitted to being “concerned” about the player’s fitness.

Arteta responded in Saturday’s post-match press conference that he was scheduled to consult with the medical staff regarding his captain’s condition. He is optimistic that Odegaard will return to action once the international break concludes.

“I am unsure.” Arsenal.com quotes Arteta as saying, “I’m going to have a meeting with the medical department right away to assess everyone’s situation. I believe he will return after the international break, but I don’t know exactly what the decision is or the current state of communication.”

Odegaard was among seven first-team players who were unable to face the Clarets, as they were sidelined due to long-term injuries sustained by Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Jurrien Timber, and Emile Smith Rowe.

Arsenal failed to specify the cause for the absence of fellow right-back Ben White and Cedric Soares, both of whom were ruled out due to illness, when they announced their starting lineup.

It was previously postulated that the 26-year-old was suffering from an injury during the latter stages of Wednesday’s Champions League triumph over Sevilla. However, Arteta disclosed that the medical staff had detected an anomaly a few weeks prior.

The Spaniard refrained from providing further details regarding White’s predicament; however, he confirmed his intention to “protect” his first-string right-back. On Sunday, the club will further investigate White’s dilemma.

“Yesterday in training he wasn’t comfortable, he didn’t look right, but Ben won’t give you much, he always wants to be on the pitch and always wants to hide anything that is in there, but we highlighted it, we noticed in the last few weeks as well something in there, and we wanted to protect him today,” Arteta stated.

“It was the right call from the physios and the medical department and tomorrow we will assess him and understand what’s happening.”

Burnley’s resistance was broken in injury time of the first half when Leandro Trossard headed in the Gunners’ 1,000th goal at Emirates Stadium. Nine minutes into the second half, Josh Brownhill equalized the score.

Nevertheless, Burnley’s prospects of securing a positive outcome were dashed by Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba, prior to Fabio Vieira receiving a straight red card for entangling Brownhill’s knee with his studs; Arteta praised this decision as “absolutely excellent.”

Arsenal are in second place in the table, surpassing Tottenham Hotspur, after the latter suffered a 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. On November 25, they will travel to face London rivals Brentford.