Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has reportedly been ruled out due to a knee injury until after the November international break. Odegaard, 26, damaged his medial collateral ligament and had to leave the Gunners'
2-0 win at home over West Ham in the first half two weeks ago. The midfielder was quickly ruled out of Norway's World Cup qualification match against Israel last week and their friendly match against New Zealand on Tuesday. Odegaard is expected to miss Arsenal's next six games and two more for his country until next month.
Odegaard has been facing a series of injuries recently. This latest injury will result in him missing the upcoming matches against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and Crystal Palace and Fulham in the English Premier League. Norway beat Israel 5-0 before playing New Zealand in an international friendly on Tuesday, October 14. Meanwhile, Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta released a statement which says, "I think he had a clash knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable. I just spoke to him, and he's not positive about it. He's got a brace on, we'll have to wait and see from the doctors. But we haven't been very lucky with that either."
Arsenal all set to play multiple matches in the coming months, but will miss Martin Odegaard
Before the next set of international games in mid-November, Mikel Arteta's team will play Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Sunderland in the Premier League. They are also playing in the UCL against Atletico Madrid and Slavia Prague. Odegaard, along with Noni Madueke, is sidelined with a knee injury. This has opened the door for Eberechi Eze, who may play in the No. 10 position if Odegaard isn't there. Arteta was happy to see vice-captain Bukayo Saka back from an injury. He scored in the win over West Ham that put Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Norway is currently in first place in Group I with 18 points after six games, which puts them in a good position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This could be a good change for Norway to make its way to the World Cup for the first time since 2000.
