Disaster has struck Arsenal football club during the September international break.
Club captain, and creator-in-chief, Martin Odegaard was hauled off in the second of Norway’s Nations League win over Austria on Monday evening after severely twisting his ankle when going for a loose ball in the middle of the park.
That injury, as well as the one sustained by Mikel Merino and the suspension which Declan Rice is set to serve, has left the Gunners extremely short in midfield heading into a crunch north London derby against rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
So, how can Mikel Arteta combat the loss of his key midfielder?
Here’s four options for the Spaniard…
Let’s get the most obvious solution out of the way first, shall we?
Mikel Arteta seemed hellbent on utilising Kai Havertz as a midfielder for the large bulk of last season, before a shift into a centre forward role led to the German international producing his best form. And at the start of the 2024/25 season, while playing as a number nine, that fine form has continued with Havertz having bagged himself three goal contributions in three appearances.
Despite those performances, Arteta will most certainly be tempted to drop Havertz back into midfield once again as he’s perhaps the most natural replacement for Odegaard. One drawback is that the 25-year-old’s probable replacement up front, Gabriel Jesus, has been struggling with a groin injury and his understudy Eddie Nketiah has moved to Crystal Palace.
Decisions, decisions.
If sacrificing his starting striker to fill a gap in midfield doesn’t appeal to Arteta, then another option could to turn to one of Arsenal’s many up-and-coming starlets.
The two standout prospects at the club are actually midfielders – which is pretty handy.
One is Ethan Nwaneri, who is the youngest player to ever play for the club and having impressed in pre-season could be set to take on a ‘vice-Bukayo Saka’ role this season.
The other is Myles Lewis-Skelly, who despite being less ingratiated into the first team, is perhaps the more natural replacement for Odegaard of the pair. The 17-year-old has been compared to Jack Wilshere by Arsenal fans, which tells you all you need to know about how highly they think of him.
One of the best things about how Edu and co. have constructed the current Arsenal squad is the positional malleability of so many of the players they’ve signed.
Ben White can play anywhere across the backline, Riccardo Calafiori (when fit) can do the same, Bukayo Saka can be utilised as a wide forward or a wing-back and, perhaps crucially for Arteta’s plans moving forward, Oleksandr Zinchenko can move into midfield from a full-back role when required too.
In fact, given his defensive struggles a left-back, Zinchenko is perhaps actually better suited to playing in midfield than he is in usual role in defence.
The Ukraine international is extremely competent on the ball and possesses an ability to switch play quickly and effectively too – something which should allow Arsenal’s attack to continue to tick even when Odegaard is out of action.
If Arteta doesn’t see any of the above options as viable stop-gaps, then the Gunners could be forced to dip into the free agent market.
And while that market is fairly barren, there is an outlier in France international and former Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The midfielder has been without a club since June, when he rejected a contract offer from Juve to test out the market instead. Thanks to his rather subpar performance over the last 12 months, that looks to have been an ill-advised move as it’s now September and Rabiot still doesn’t have a club.
If Odegaard’s injury is as serious as first feared, however, Arsenal may be desperate enough to give the midfielder his first crack at Premier League football.
Would he be a good signing? Form would suggest no, but he’s the best of a bad bunch that’s currently without a club.
