Arsenal and Mikel Arteta can’t catch a break! The previous international break sidelined the Gunners’ skipper Martin Odegaard, who suffered an ankle injury in the UEFA Nations League clash between Norway and Austria, leaving the pitch in the 67th minute. Since then, the 25-year-old missed four Premier League matches (against Tottenham, Man City, Leicester, and Southampton), two UEFA Champions League duels (with Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain), and an EFL Cup clash against Bolton – seven in total. The Norwegian’s return date is still unknown but he’ll most likely miss the upcoming EPL game with Bournemouth and UCL duel with Shakhtar Donetsk.Martin Odegaard was forced off with an ankle injury last international break for Norway and is currently sidelined while recovering for Arsenal.Bukayo Saka was subbed off today with an apparent injury for England.Tough blows for Arsenal 🤕 pic.twitter.com/BSJBxF0XkY— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 10, 2024 And as if that wasn’t terrible enough, Bukayo Saka played only 52 minutes last night against Greece and had to be subbed due to potential injury. Arsenal’s vice-captain is being assessed, and the seriousness of his condition is still undetermined.Arteta’s team is among the biggest favourites for the Premier League title – the Gunners have been waiting for 20 years – and they’ve surprisingly performed very well without Odegaard. Even though the lack of creativity in the midfield was evident, Arsenal recorded five wins and two draws during the Norwegian’s absence. However, without Saka, things might become terrible for the North London crew.Odegaard: It won’t be much longerNamely, not only did the popular “Starboy” take the captain armband from Odegaard as his understudy, but he also took the burden of carrying the team through the difficult period, noting two goals and three assists during the skipper’s absence. And those are only statistical parameters, whereas his influence on Arsenal’s play is immense.Except for the two captains, the newcomer Riccardo Calafiori was also sidelined after the international break, missing the North London Derby against Tottenham due to calf issues he experienced representing Italy against France. The list of injured Arsenal players does not end with the Italian since there are also Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, while Kai Havertz is questionable, and another new addition, Mikel Merino, has recently returned to the squad after a month-long break caused by a shoulder injury.Really Opta?! Liverpool take the throne while Arsenal finish eight?!If this trend continues, Arteta will probably spend each international break in indescribable fear, and the Gunners won’t be able to endure in the Premier League title race. That’s why we can say with great certainty that Arsenal are the club that hates international break the most.##NAJAVA_MECA_8405684##
