‘Always available’ – Mikel Arteta drops major Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori injury hint

Mikel Arteta has provided the latest on the fitness of Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori after the pair were injured on international duty.

Odegaard suffered a nasty-looking ankle problem after colliding with with Julian Baumgartner during Norway’s UEFA Nations League clash with Austria. The Arsenal captain was pictured flying home early from international duty on crutches in the aftermath.

Upon returning to London the 25-year-old had a series of MRI scans which revealed that he had probably not suffered a fracture to his ankle. However, Norwegian FA doctor Ola Sand confirmed that the injury is likely to leave him sidelined for some time. “Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks. Anything other than that is just a bonus, and then it can take longer,” he said.

Despite that though, Arteta has refused to rule out the prospect of having his captain available for Sunday’s North London Derby with Tottenham.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Arteta said: “We need some more tests. Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. This afternoon probably. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see.

“I leave that to the doctor. He’s willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens.”

If Odegaard is unavailable then Arteta faces something of a crisis in midfield. Summer signing Mikel Merino is injured for up to two months after fracturing his shoulder in his first training session at the club last month, while Declan Rice is suspended after being controversially sent off against Brighton prior to the international break.

Arteta may be forced to drop Kai Havertz back from the centre forward position to compensate for the lack of numbers in midfield. 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri is another less likely option, while Leandro Trossard and Oleksandr Zinchenko have played the creative midfield role in the past.

To make matters worse, Arteta is also sweating over the fitness of £42million summer signing Calafiori. The 22-year-old suffered a freak injury during Italy’s Nations League clash with France in which Ousmane Dembele fell straight on to the back of his right calf after a challenge with Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.

Arteta though was once again vague on Calafiori’s chances of making it for his first North London Derby this weekend. He added: “He’s another one where we’ll have to wait another day.”

The Arsenal boss was more forthcoming on Gabriel Jesus, however. The Brazilian has been out since suffering a groin problem in mid-August. Arteta revealed that he has made positive progress though, and is in line to be involved at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

“Gabi was out there. He’s got another session tomorrow and if everything goes well he’ll be with us,” he admitted.