BREAKING NEWS: The news came as a shock to us this morning when the report came that He sustained another injury blow while on international duty yesterday, nobody expects this to happen now but we wish Him quick recovery”, Mikel Arteta fumes as another Arsenal key player sustained a heavy injury while on international duty yesterday
Arsenal will likely decide whether Martin Odegaard needs surgery on his recent knee injury this week, Gunners expert Charles Watts believes.
Arsenal have now confirmed that Odegaard has sustained an MCL injury and has pulled out of the Norway squad, but there is still no indication as to how long the 26-year-old might be sidelined for, leaving Gooners anxiously awaiting to learn whether he could miss days, weeks or months.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Watts theorised that Arsenal would send Odegaard for another scan once the initial swelling goes down, and the Gunners will decide almost immediately whether the former Real Madrid starlet needs surgery or not.
“I’ve asked around, but no one’s saying anything at the moment,” Watts said when asked for an update. “I’m not sure if they would even know for certain yet. If they do then it’s certainly being kept under wraps. They would have got the initial diagnosis, but there would have been a lot of swelling.
“You probably have an initial scan, but then you need to wait probably another week or so, very similar to what happened with Kai Havertz. You have another scan, and then you determine the true extent of it. I think we’re probably still a couple of days away from that, or whether Arsenal even make any further announcements, I don’t know.
“It’s a worry, no doubt. I’ve seen all the medical experts on social media predicting between anywhere between one week and three months. Hopefully it’s very much closer to the former, but most of all I just feel so sorry for Martin. The look on his face when he went down the second time and knew he was going to have to go off and he couldn’t run it off, he’s distraught.
Arsenal to make ‘very, very quick’ decision on Martin Odegaard operation
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard goes down injured on October 4, 2025
“It’s not kneecap on kneecap –it’s more on the side where Odegaard takes the impact, and that’s probably where the damage has come from. It’s just so unlucky. The first player ever in Premier League history to be substituted off before half time in three consecutive starts – that is a record you absolutely do not want to have. It’s so cruel on him particularly, but for Arsenal as well because they need their captain.
“Fingers crossed it is just a two, three-week [layoff]. The key thing is if he’s going to have to have an operation or not – that will be decided very very quickly – I imagine this week once the swelling goes down and they have another scan.”
Odegaard’s latest cruel blow came after an exceptional performance in Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League victory at home to Olympiacos, where he claimed one assist, created two big chances and registered seven accurate long passes from nine attempts.
The 26-year-old has struggled to hit the same heights he achieved in 2022-23 and 2023-24, though, thanks also in no small part to a serious ankle injury last season and two shoulder issues in two weeks during the early stages of this campaign.
While Odegaard’s absence did not prove fatal on Saturday, Watts insisted that Mikel Arteta’s men are not as efficient without their skipper, adding: “Arsenal are a better team when Martin Odegaard’s playing, and he’s playing well. We saw that in the Champions League.
“It’s just been such a stop-start start to the season and just feels such a shame after what happened last season, because we’re all expecting big things from Martin Odegaard. He had a real desire to shut a lot of people up, and we’ve seen bits and pieces of that happening already.”
As Arsenal fans wait with bated breath to hear the latest on Odegaard’s concern, Arteta and his coaching staff will be making contingency plans in case of a prolonged absence for the Scandinavian, but Arsenal are not short of cover in that area.
Should Arsenal, Mikel Arteta be more careful with Martin Odegaard?
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard goes down injured on September 13, 2025
Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri are like-for-like replacements; the former shifted across to the Odegaard role following the latter’s withdrawal on Saturday, while Nwaneri replaced him off the bench against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.
Arteta has also trialled Mikel Merino in the captain’s spot – albeit to limited success – and Watts therefore expects the Gunners to ease him back in slower than they did when he recovered from his pair of shoulder issues.
“You don’t have to play him,” he added. “Arsenal are in a position now where they’ve got a squad that is so strong, and so capable. If Odegaard is out for a significant amount of time, they’ve still got plenty of really strong options there.
“The squad hasn’t been built to cope with these injuries – it’s being built to have everyone fit at the same time, being able to rest and rotate and ensure everyone’s at absolutely top form all the time. It’s great you do have these players who can fill in, but you want to be able to utilise them in the right way rather than them having to come in because of injury.
“It’s not muscle injuries that are happening to him, it’s just freak bad luck, all three of them. If he is fit relatively quickly, probably wise to ease him a little bit back in – clearly there’s an issue with the ligament in the knee, so I think they will be a little bit more careful with this than the shoulder, which was more of an impact thing.
“It feels like that’s very best-case scenario immediately after the international break – I think it’s going to be a little bit longer than that, but hopefully not much longer.”
After Odegaard’s withdrawal, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka bagged the goals in the Gunners’ win over West Ham, and Watts also shared a memory of the latter as a fearless 17-year-old kid following his 100th Premier League goal involvement.
