Injuries. The bane of Mikel Arsenal’s life. The bane of Arsenal’s very existence over the last year.
It’s not too preposterous to suggest that without them last season, the Gunners would have secured the title over Liverpool.
Arteta is certainly not one to make excuses when they have players on the treatment table but the fact of the matter is, they missed Gabriel, Kai Havertz and chiefly, Bukayo Saka, to major hamstring injuries.
Combine that with Martin Odegaard’s ankle problem a year ago and they were, if you pardon the pun, severely hamstrung by the events that played out.
Fast forward to the current campaign and, despite injecting nearly £300m into the player squad, adding more depth to Arteta’s ranks, they are feeling the effects of it again.
Havertz has been out since August, William Saliba has also missed a period of a few games and Saka endured another little niggle of his own too. That’s without mentioning Noni Madueke, Saka’s backup, who is also out injured.
So, when Odegaard limped from the field during their 2-0 win over West Ham last weekend, you could hear the drones inside the Emirates Stadium.
The latest on Martin Odegaard's injury
This has been a particularly troubling year for the Arsenal skipper. During an early-season international break last term, he suffered an ankle injury while playing for Norway and he’s arguably not been the same since.
That problem kept the skipper out for a few months and even when he did return, there was a sense that the Arsenal midfielder didn’t feel comfortable. He didn’t trust his ankle enough to strike through the ball cleanly when taking shots. It also impacted his playmaking ability.
The numbers below rubberstamp that fact. From 2023/24 to 2024/25, his base numbers were way down on what you would expect.
Games
35
30
Goals
8
3
Assists
10
8
Conversion rate
17.02%
10%
Chances created *
3
2.4
Duels won *
3.7
2.9
It’s typical, therefore, that as soon as Odegaard began to find his form again, he was struck down by another injury.
In the brief glimpses we’ve seen of the former Real Madrid man this season, there have been promising signs, no less so than against Olympiacos in the Champions League.
During Arsenal’s 2-0 win, the Norwegian simply ran the show, supplying the pre-assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s opener and then carving open the defence to assist Saka’s late strike.
It was vintage Odegaard but he was soon injured again, sparking fears that this could be a Jack Wilshere situation all over again.
Indeed, against West Ham last weekend, he hobbled off for the third successive league match, creating a little bit of history in the process. Worryingly, he became the first player in Premier League history to be substituted in the first half of three consecutive fixtures.
So, what’s the problem? Well, he left the Emirates wearing a brace on his knee last week and subsequent scans showed that he had suffered a medial collateral ligament injury. As a result, he pulled out of Norway’s fixtures over the ongoing break.
A suspected timeline of return has not yet been revealed, sparking fears that Odegaard could be out for a number of weeks.
How Arsenal can solve their Odegaard injury blow
The most likely solution for Arsenal will be Eberechi Eze. Signed in the summer, it was widely expected that the mega-money £67.5m arrival would play out on the left-hand side.
After all, Arteta required upgrades on the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard and he thought he’d signed one here.
Yet, Eze’s initial performances on the left lacked a bit of sparkle. They were solid enough but it was clear he was playing in a role he doesn’t enjoy quite as much. Against Bilbao in the Champions League, he produced just one key pass, down on his 2024/25 seasonal average of 1.7 while playing more centrally for Crystal Palace.
It’s in that central role where Eze has featured across Arsenal’s last three games. The difference has been noticeable.
He found the net against Port Vale and then versus Newcastle, he was desperately unlucky not to score a couple, denied by Nick Pope fabulously on two occasions. Against West Ham, supporters were cruelly robbed of seeing him line up alongside Odegaard for very long when the latter went off.
The scorer of 14 goals and the provider of 11 assists last season, the England international is certainly the most obvious candidate to replace Odegaard.
Yet, in two Hale End gems, Arteta has two more luxurious options: Ethan Nwaneri, who played regularly in the Odegaard role during pre-season and the generational Max Dowman.
It’s unlikely that Dowman is given a start but this feels like an ideal opportunity to give the 15-year-old game time in a role where the club envisions his future.
To date, the sparkling teenager has only been seen at first-team level on the right flank, starring in pre-season when he notably won a penalty against Newcastle, before featuring for 27 minutes in Premier League action from that role.
Dowman may not have played many league minutes just yet but he’s still made a big impact, becoming the second-youngest player in the division’s history and winning a penalty in the 5-0 win over Leeds.
As Mikel Merino commented earlier this year, the youngster is already “unbelievable”. Fellow midfielder Declan Rice has also waxed lyrical. “I’ve never seen a 15-year-old so comfortable around the first team, it’s insane.” Quite.
What Dowman is doing is not normal. Not even Nwaneri burst onto the scene in such a way. He was 15 when he debuted but had to wait another few years for regular opportunities. This kid is already getting them. Do we have another Lamine Yamal on our hands?
1. Ethan Nwaneri
15 years, 5 months
2. Max Dowman
15 years, 7 months
3. Jeremy Monga
15 years, 8 months
4. Harvey Elliott
16 years, 1 month
5. Matthew Briggs
16 years, 2 months
Expectations must be tempered and we must be cautious here. Merino’s next comment was to remind everyone, “he’s only 15, so obviously he has many things to learn.”
But, what makes this young starlet so special? Well, he’s got the ability to score and assist at will, netting 19 in 23 last season and creating five goals. Meanwhile, his ability to glide past players with ease has already made him a target for defenders.
Data analyst Ben Mattinson outlines how the teen is already a “foul magnet” and that’s something Arteta has also picked up on.
Commenting on Dowman’s development earlier this season, the Spaniard said: “He’s so used to it [being kicked by defenders] that now he knows to let the referee deal with it and my teammates probably to defend me, and I will carry on playing.”
So, while the Hale End prodigy is unlikely to start while Odegaard is injured, Arteta must use it as an opportunity to give further minutes to the club’s biggest academy talent.
Not Eze: Arteta can fix Odegaard blow with Arsenal gem who's "like Wilshere"
Martin Odegaard faces another period out injured but Mikel Arteta has a solution lined up at Arsenal.
ByJack Salveson Holmes