Arsenal could be without £30m mainstay for over four weeks after injury

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be without an important player in his squad for beyond four weeks after he picked up an injury this week.

Tottenham vs Arsenal – team news and injury updates

The Gunners are preparing for one of their biggest games of the season this weekend, as a North London Derby clash away to Tottenham looms for Arsenal this Sunday in their first game back post-internationals.

Arsenal dropped their first points of the new Premier League campaign against Brighton two weeks ago, with Arteta’s side held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium. After signing a brand-new contract, which runs until 2027, Arteta’s next focus will be returning to winning ways at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he’s got a real selection headache on his hands. Arteta will be unable to call upon a few key players, with star midfielder Declan Rice suspended after picking up two yellow cards and a subsequent sending off against Brighton.

Mikel Merino has been ruled out of the Spurs clash through injury, and possibly won’t return until after the October international break. Fellow new arrival Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt for Arsenal’s trip to Tottenham as well, following the defender’s freak calf injury on international duty, sustained through a collision with France winger Ousmane Dembélé.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is expected to miss Arsenal’s next game too, with the Japan international not expected to be available until later this month. This series of absences, coupled with that of club captain Martin Odegaard, means Arteta is planning to drop Kai Havertz back into midfield against Tottenham, with summer signing Raheem Sterling potentially set to play a false nine role.

Going back to Odegaard, the consensus has been that the Norway star is expected to miss three weeks after he picked up an ankle injury and was forced off during his nation’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday.

Odegaard could be sidelined for over four weeks at Arsenal

Now, according to Arsenal insider James Benge, it is believed that Odegaard could actually be sidelined for beyond four weeks at Arsenal, which means he would miss their crucial Champions League clash with PSG, as well as their blockbuster clashes against Atalanta and Man City.

“We’re talking three weeks at a minimum, talking to people that know. I mean, they were pretty confident that there wasn’t a break or anything like that,” said Benge on Charles Watts’ YouTube channel (via GMS).

“But even they were talking about something that could stretch beyond four weeks. Once you get to that four-week mark, you’re into the next international break, and the difference between a four-week and a five-and-a-half-week absence isn’t necessarily huge.

“It’s such a testing time with that PSG game on 1 October. At the three-week mark, he’s probably going to miss the PSG game as well. Even if he’s able to play, it’ll be limited.”

The 25-year-old, who joined Arsenal for just £30 million from Real Madrid in 2021, will be a sore miss for their upcoming games – and it will be interesting to see how Arteta copes with the midfielder’s absence.