Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be absolutely fuming following Martin Odegaard’s injury on international duty.
Norway beat Austria 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League, with Erling Haaland scoring the winner, but the game was dominated by Odegaard’s injury.
The Arsenal captain was crying as he hobbled off with an ankle injury, with question marks over his availability and the extent of his injury.
All of this has happened at the wrong time for the Premier League title chasers because they have some huge games coming up.
Arsenal face Tottenham in the north London derby at the weekend, before starting another Champions League adventure and then facing Manchester City of all teams.
Declan Rice is already suspended for Arsenal – he will return after a one-match ban – so there is now every chance that Arteta could be without two key first-team midfielders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Jason Cundy spoke about how Rice and Odegaard are probably ‘the first two names on the teamsheet’ for Arsenal and now they might have to do without them.
But who replaces Odegaard if he can’t make the Spurs game, with several names flying about?
It needs to be noted that playmaker Fabio Vieira is on loan at Porto and Arsenal sold Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham this summer.
Jermaine Pennant suggested Arsenal’s new loan signing Raheem Sterling could play as a ten and Kai Havertz‘s name was also thrown into the ring.
From a purely natural standpoint, Havertz suits that role the best, but Pennant thinks this is now the time for Sterling to start, as he told talkSPORT.
Raheem Sterling to make his debut against Tottenham
“Are you a little bit light up top,” questioned Cundy. “Two of your best midfielders (Rice and Odegaard). Probably the two first names on the team sheet won’t be starting against Spurs.”
Pennant then asked: “Does that make Sterling start now? Does that give him a place to start?” To which Cundy responded: “Yes, but you have Martinelli. Who plays in that advanced role? Sterling can play down the middle. Havertz might. I don’t know.”
Pennant then added: “I think he (Sterling) is going to have to. Who is going to play there?”
Leandro Trossard as the number nine
Many have stated before that Leandro Trossard is the best finisher at Arsenal. He proved that with his goal from the bench at Villa Park.
But could he play the number nine role for Arteta against Spurs, Havertz drop as the ten and Sterling play out wide?
READ MORE: Jason Cundy lets rip at Arsenal’s Declan Rice after he is booed on England duty
A lot of it will depend on where Sterling is at, in terms of fitness, because whilst he had a pre-season with Chelsea, he didn’t feature for them when the season started and hasn’t played a game for over a month.
Either way, this is now a huge test of Arsenal’s bottle and whether they can now cope with the pressure of being without a few key players.
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