The international breaks have not been kind to Arsenal of late, at least it feels that way. Those feelings are almost certainly exacerbated by the negativity bias hardwired into our brains. They’re also exclusively focused on Arsenal — I don’t think any of us are doing comparative studies on which clubs were most negatively affected in terms of games lost, controlling for player importance.
But still, two years ago, Arsenal had an entire season derailed (in part) by a Martin Ødegaard ankle injury
suffered during an early international break. That injury contributed to a cascade effect across the entire attack.
Christos Tzolis
The Greek winger was substituted off after just 18 minutes against the Netherlands with what was pretty clearly a hamstring problem. Tzolis remained on the bench rather than going to the changing room, for whatever that’s worth. Fortunately, early reports are that he suffered a Grade 1 strain (that’s the lowest, least severe) and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.
Kai Havertz
Havertz was on the receiving end of a heavy (read: nasty) challenge from Quentin Timber (Jurrien’s twin) in Germany’s first match of the break. He continued playing for a bit but came off shortly afterwards. It initially looked like he had a foot issue but it was later reported that he had picked up a muscular issue. He returned to London a week ago for further evaluation. Arsenal are optimistic that he did NOT suffer a long-term injury.
Martin Ødegaard
Everyone was holding their breath (and sharpening their knives) when the Arsenal skipper went down holding his ankle after an intentional and late kick on the ankle from Bernardo Silva. It was a filthy play from a player who has always been the type and was likely particularly aggrieved that his former Manchester City side’s decade-plus of cheating had just been confirmed. Ødegaard reacted to the on-field assault in a way that you don’t often see from the stoic midfielder. He was pissed and said as much after the game.
He was spotted limping heavily to the team bus, but scans confirmed no significant damage was done. It was a sore one, as he said. Breath easy, folks. Ødegaard started Norway’s next match and registered an assist. I despise Bernardo Silva.
William Saliba
The French centerback has resumed running on grass, per reports. He’s aiming for a November return to action, which is maybe a bit earlier than some projections had it. Finally, some good(ish) news!
There hasn’t been any negative reporting on Declan Rice’s status. The midfielder withdrew from the England squad presumably to rest the various aches and pains that have been bothering him since the run-in last season. Ezri Konsa trained on his own a few days ago, is not expected to be part of the matchday squad against Croatia, but reportedly has traveled with the team. There doesn’t appear to be much need for concern there.
Bruno Guimaraes and Gabriel are both doing a bit of load management while away with Brazil. They’ve not missed any matches, though. Ben White (groin), Cristhian Mosquera (hamstring), and Piero Hincapie (groin) are expected to be ready to go soon, perhaps as soon as the Leeds match coming out of the break.
