Mikel Arteta Provides Martin Odegaard Latest And Hints At Serious Concern In Arsenal Injury Update

Mikel Arteta has provided a timeline on Martin Odegaard’s return and hinted at a major injury within the Arsenal squad in his latest injury update ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Bolton.

Arsenal’s agonising draw away at Manchester City on Sunday has seemingly come at a cost to at least one member of their squad, with Mikel Arteta suggesting in his press conference ahead of their clash against Bolton in the Carabao Cup that one of his players has suffered a significant injury.

Of course, Rodri suffered a serious knee injury for the Cityzens, and while Riccardo Calafiori, David Raya, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber all went down and received treatment during the match, there weren’t any serious concerns come the full-time whistle.

It seems as though this situation has changed now however, with Arteta confirming that ‘one of them’ suffered an injury on Sunday, but he wouldn’t let slip who the individual is.

Not only will the Gunners likely be without this mystery absentee, but they’ll also have to make do without the suspended Leandro Trossard and the injured Mikel Merino, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard. Arteta also provided the latest on the latter two.

Arsenal Injury Update: Odegaard Return ‘Will Be A Matter Of Weeks’

When asked about the condition of Arsenal captain Odegaard, who suffered an ankle injury while away with Norway earlier this month, Arteta confirmed that his return ‘will be a matter of weeks’.

“I think it will be a matter of weeks. How long exactly, I cannot tell you.”

Pressed for an answer as to whether Odegaard would be back before October’s internationals, Arteta added: “We might get a surprise, but I think it’s unlikely.”

Zinchenko, who also suffered his calf injury on international duty, is expected to miss the next few games too, with Arteta confirming: “I think he will still be out for a few weeks.”

Arteta was also asked whether there were any additional injury concerns from the draw against Manchester City, to which he responded saying he prefers to deal in ‘facts’ in response to criticisms about Arsenal’s ‘dark arts’ following the top of the table clash.

“I always prefer the facts than words or supposing things. Let’s see who’s available tomorrow, and then we can talk about dark arts or these things.

“Unfortunately, yes, there will be a few players not available. Tomorrow you will find out. We have to wait. One of them [picked up an injury on Sunday].”

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal are heavily favoured to beat Bolton among the UK’s best football betting sites heading into Wednesday night’s clash, with bookmakers pricing Arteta’s side at around 1/8.