Martin Odegaard is set to miss nine matches for club and country due to a knee injury that he suffered in Arsenal’s last game.
The Arsenal captain had to be taken off during the Gunners’ 2-0 win against West Ham United before the international break. It meant that Odegaard had to withdraw from the Norway international side during the break, and is now set to miss a significant amount of time.
Most Read on Gooner News
Most recent reports indicate that Odegaard could be out of action until after the November international break, meaning a return is more likely closer to December than anything else. This is a huge blow for Mikel Arteta, as the midfielder had recently shown flashes of him being back to his best.
Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino will likely help to fill in at the attacking midfield spot to replace Odegaard, however, there is a forgotten Arsenal star that Arteta has to use based on what he’s done previously for the Arsenal boss.
Arteta should use Ethan Nwaneri to replace Odegaard
Ethan Nwaneri broke into the Arsenal side last season under Arteta, and became a first team regular for the Gunners based on his impressive performances despite his age of 17.
Nwaneri is now 18, but the Arsenal attacker has had a limited opportunity this season after Arsenal signed the likes of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze to play ahead of him in the summer.
However, now that Odegaard is injured, Nwaneri has a chance to get back into the team, as Arteta has previously expressed his desire to play the 18-year-old in a more central role, which is the exact position that Odegaard operates in.
So far this season, Nwaneri has made just four Premier League appearances with no starts, but his stats from last year mean that you HAVE to consider him to replace Odegaard. Last season, Nwaneri made 37 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring nine goals, and providing two assists.
Chelsea were keen on Nwaneri in the summer
If Nwaneri doesn’t get the game time that he wants, he could decide to push for a move, which would be a worry, as London rivals Chelsea were reportedly keen on him in the summer transfer window.
Reports said that the Blues wanted Nwaneri in some form of swap deal involving Madueke, who the Gunners ended up paying £52m for. However, Arsenal didn’t want to let go of Nwaneri, especially as he’d recently signed a new contract.
The Gunners should look to play the attacker more often as he has proven that he can deliver for Arteta at the highest level.
Click here to see Arsenal’s latest injury news and expected return dates coming out of the international break.