Arsenal captain Odegaard nearing return, says Arteta

The Norwegian midfielder has been ruled out with an ankle problem suffered on international duty in September. Arteta's side remain unbeaten in the Premier League and find themselves just one point behind leaders Liverpool, despite missing Odegaard since the game against Brighton on August 31st.  Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed that Odegaard will not be available for the Saturday fixture against Bournemouth, but further revealed that the situation will be revaluated ahead of next week's clashes against Shakhtar Donetsk, in the Champions League, and Liverpool.

"I think he's not going to be fit for this game," Arteta said during his press conference on Friday.  "Next week will be a different story, but again, in that later stage of rehab where he is at the moment, because he's doing already a lot of the stuff, he needs to clear some markers, he needs to clear certain things, he needs to be comfortable doing things, especially with the ball. I think next week will be crucial to understand how close he is."

The Spaniard also issued a fitness update on Bukayo Saka, who was injured during England's 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley last week and missed the 3-1 victory over Finland in the Nations League. The Gunners boss said a late call would be made over the fitness of the 23-year-old. "It's not a serious injury," he told reporters. "He's evolving really well. He's done a few things in the last two days. He wasn't fit enough to play with the national team the second game but we are hopeful. We have a training session this afternoon, he did some bits yesterday, so let's see if he can make it on time."

Arteta also gave positive news on forward Kai Havertz, who was forced to withdraw from the Germany squad for their games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee discomfort. "He had a few issues and we've been dealing with that," he explained. "He's been absolutely brilliant, he has very good communication with the national team, with the manager. They understood the situation, we modified everything that we could do here and again if he trains well today he's got a good chance to be fit and available."

 

October 18, 2024