Martin Odegaard Out Extended Time With Ligament Damage In Ankle
Martin Odegaard will miss more time than anticipated after tests revealed damaged ligaments in his ankle. Odegaard suffered the injury on international duty with Arsenal.
“After everything was scanned, the scan showed he has got some damage, especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle,” said Arteta. “We are going to miss him. I don’t want to [give a timeline] because I am not a doctor but yes, it is something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months, but let’s see.”
Odegaard has only missed five Premier League matches over the last three seasons.
“We have to show that,” Arteta said of Arsenal being capable of playing without Odegaard. “He is our captain, he is one of our biggest players without a doubt. He has been one of the most consistent players in the last two or three seasons. Our identity is very related to his way of playing and his way of behaving. We are going to have to deal with that. That is a great test for the team as well, of how capable we are to show maybe a different face and the fact we have other players and other options that can still be very effective.”