The 2024-25 season has been a rocky road for Arsenal and their manager Mikel Arteta.
Despite being tipped to challenge – and in some cases even surpass – Manchester City for the Premier League title, following last season, the Gunners have been hit hard by injuries in the first quarter of their campaign.
Arteta has had to navigate through key fixtures without some of his star players, with many of these injuries occurring during international breaks, adding insult to injury for the Spaniard. But arguably the biggest set back was the one suffered by skipper Martin Odegaard back in September.
The Norway international suffered an ankle injury during the match against Austria at the start of September, causing him to miss several crucial games before finally making a comeback earlier this month, reports the Mirror.
Adding to Arteta’s woes, Bukayo Saka, one of his most influential players, limped off during an England game in last month’s international break. While Saka’s injury wasn’t as severe as Odegaard’s, it did force him to sit out against Bournemouth; a game that saw Arsenal suffer their first defeat of the Premier League season.
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Saka’s return to the Gunners line-up post-injury was a boost but his subsequent withdrawal from the England squad, along with Declan Rice, due to injury concerns has left fans biting their nails. And they are now left wondering if the duo will be ready for the weekend clash against Nottingham Forest.
In another worrisome development for the Arsenal camp, Leandro Trossard could miss out on the upcoming clash with Forest. Trossard limped off during Belgium’s 1-0 loss to Israel. Defensive headaches for Mikel Arteta might intensify too as Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori, and Kieran Tierney are already in the treatment room, ahead of a match that is vital for the title chase even at this stage of the season.
(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Yet, there’s a silver lining as Odegaard pulled out from Norway’s squad this week, shortly after recovering from his injury. Odegaard expressed caution regarding his fitness, stating: “I got through the match at the weekend [against Chelsea before the November international break], but it was a rather abrupt transition from the last nine weeks.
“In this kind of process, you don’t just go from being injured to suddenly being completely healthy. You tend to have a reaction to what happens, and then it’s about how you react to it. Together with the NFF’s medical team, we’ve looked at it and agreed that it’s better for me to go back and make a full recovery.
“We have had an open and nice discussion. I have been talking to Stale ever since I was injured, and of course more intensively in recent weeks. This is not about what Arsenal has said, or what Stale has said. It’s about what my situation is.”