With Martin Odegaard suffering an ankle injury on international duty, reports have surfaced that he might be out for two to three months, and Mikel Arteta’s quotes in the pre-Atalanta preview confirmed his lengthy absence,
“The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him”
“It’s something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while.”
Arsenal has already played two games without Odegaard, winning Tottenham narrowly and drawing with Atalanta. In both games, Arsenal’s creative numbers have plummeted and Odegaard has been a huge miss. However, the lads must soldier on, and this will be a good opportunity to review the skipper’s alternatives.
Kai Havertz
Havertz is the most likely replacement for Odegaard, dropping from his de-facto center forward berth to return to attacking midfield, a position he shine bright like a super star in his Bayer Leverkusen days.
Havertz has improved leaps and bounds, showing great confidence and with Gabriel Jesus odds on to feature regularly as the center forward, Havertz would be the replacement for Odegaard.
Leandro Trossard
Trossard featured in the attacking midfield role in the North London Derby and had a cameo in the role in the recent draw against Atalanta.
His versatility certainly offers him a chance in this playing position, but he hasn’t looked too impressive thus far.
Ethan Nwaneri
Nwaneri seems like a natural replacement for Odegaard in terms of his style and left-footedness but he’s very raw and I don’t expect Arteta to throw him into the deep end. He came on as a sub for Saka in the North London Derby and held his own.
We will certainly get a chance to see Nwaneri feature in that role in the Carabao Cup clash with Bolton.
