‘Exceptional’ Arsenal player missed training in USA ahead of Bournemouth clash

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Arsenal have flown over to the USA for their pre-season tour where they will play three games.

Mikel Arteta has had many of his players back in training for a couple of weeks now. He held a mini-camp in Marbella before putting his stars through the paces at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.

Now, Arsenal are in Los Angeles preparing for their first pre-season game against Bournemouth, which will be held at the Dignity Health Sports Park in the early hours of Thursday.

One player was not spotted in training on Monday, and his availability for the game against the Cherries is unclear, as things stand.

Why Martin Odegaard missed Arsenal training in USA

Martin Odegaard is one of Arsenal’s most important players.

The Gunners skipper has been key for Arteta since he joined the club from Real Madrid in 2022, initially on a loan deal which was made permanent in the following summer.

Odegaard, branded as an ‘exceptional’ player by Adrian Clarke (Handbrake Off Podcast), missed just three games in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season. He was arguably their most impressive player last term.

Arsenal fans are hoping for another big season from their skipper, but many became worried after the Norway international was not spotted in training on Monday.

Football London have now shared what really happened.

Odegaard has been reported as being ‘ill’ after touching down in the United States. However, his illness is said to be minor and shouldn’t keep him out of action for too long.

Arsenal take on Bournemouth early on Thursday, and it’s still unclear if Odegaard will be able to play in that fixture. We don’t expect Arteta to take any risks if he isn’t at his best.

There’s one thing Martin Odegaard needs to improve in 2024/25

Odegaard was brilliant for Arsenal in the 2023/24 season.

The Gunners captain played 48 games in all competitions and directly contributed to 22 goals – that is the same as he produced in the previous campaign.

However, the difference was that Odegaard scored fewer goals in the 2023/24 season – 11 – compared to the year before – 15.

That is one thing we’re sure he would want to improve on in the upcoming campaign.

If he does, Arsenal will go to a whole new level and could finally displace Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.