Martin Odegaard breaks silence after injury update as Arsenal captain shows true colours
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was among the high-profile absentees from the 1-0 win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. The Gunners playmaker suffered a suspected ankle injury during the international break while on duty with Norway.
He joined Declan Rice on the touchline as Mikel Arteta was forced to select a starting 11 without two of his starting midfielders after Rice was suspended, following his dismissal at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. Italian Jorginho deputised alongside Thomas Partey with Kai Havertz in the attacking midfield role for Sunday’s North London Derby triumph.
Gabriel’s second-half header was enough to see Arsenal return to winning ways. Ahead of their Premier League showdown with league leaders Manchester City, next Sunday, the Gunners sit second following Liverpool’s defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.
Odegaard posted a simple message to his social media following the win over their bitter rivals. The 25-year-old posted three red heart emojis after the triumph after Rice took to Instagram to express his “love” for his teammates after the hard-earned win.
Bukayo Saka was forced off midway through the second-half, potentially adding to injury problems for Arteta. Speaking after the match, the Spaniard said: “Martin, we still have to want and see. He wasn’t available today.”
“I don’t know,” Arteta added on Saka. “I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down. I don’t know exactly what it is but he could not continue.”
Following the issue picked up during the interval, there was no place in the matchday squad at all for Odegaard, forcing Arteta to name five teenagers on the bench.
