Arsenal Fans Look Away! Martin Odegaard Blow as Injury Recovery Timeline is Confirmed

Arsenal's season has been dealt a significant blow with the confirmation that captain Martin Odegaard is expected to be out for six weeks due to knee ligament damage.

The 26-year-old playmaker was substituted just 30 minutes into Arsenal's 2-0 victory over West Ham before the recent international break. The injury occurred following what manager Mikel Arteta described as a "knee on knee" collision with Crysencio Summerville.

While the club initially confirmed damage to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, they did not provide a specific recovery timeline. However, reports from BBC Sport now indicate that Odegaard will likely be unavailable until after the next international window in mid-November.

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This extended absence means the Norwegian international is set to miss four crucial Premier League matches and two Champions League fixtures. His availability for the highly anticipated North London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates on November 23 remains uncertain.

The news is a major headache for Arteta, who has already been without his influential captain for large parts of the current campaign.

In a frustrating turn of events, Odegaard's early exit against West Ham set an undesirable Premier League record, making him the first player to be substituted before halftime in three consecutive matches. His previous early withdrawals against Leeds and Nottingham Forest were due to a persistent shoulder issue.

Following the win over the Hammers on October 4, which sent Arsenal to the top of the table, Arteta expressed his concern over the injury.

"I just spoke to him, he's not positive about it, he's got a brace on," the manager said.

"We will have to wait and see from the doctors, but we haven't been very lucky with that either. We haven't had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury.

"We will have to wait and see the extent of that injury, and we'll find solutions, but obviously he's our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attacking."

Odegaard was subsequently forced to withdraw from international duty with Norway, missing their dominant 5-0 win over Israel on Saturday.

In his captain's absence, Eberechi Eze has stepped into the advanced midfield role and is expected to continue there for the coming month.

While Arteta has previously experimented with a more conservative midfield trio of Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, and Declan Rice against top sides like Liverpool and Manchester City, that approach drew criticism after dropping five points.

The manager has since reverted to a more attacking setup featuring Eze in the number 10 position.