Martin Odegaard injury proves that Arsenal already made a big mistake with £34m player this summer

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After losing Declan Rice to suspension against Brighton & Hove Albion, Mikel Arteta already had a midfield selection headache at Arsenal ahead of the upcoming North London derby.

Rice was brilliant for England against Ireland on Saturday, demonstrating all that Arsenal will be missing.

Of course, Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury with Italy over the break, meaning he’s returned to London Colney early.

Calafiori was an option to replace Rice for the derby, with Jurrien Timber then stepping up into a midfield role.

However, Arteta now potentially has an even bigger issue to solve ahead of Sunday.

As during Monday evening’s international fixtures, Martin Odegaard picked up an injury whilst playing for Norway.

The Arsenal captain went into these internationals with a knock, putting question to his involvement in the first place, but either way, the Gunners may have now lost a vital cog to their machine ahead of Tottenham, and potentially even for Manchester City the week after.

Arsenal can’t turn to Fabio Vieira after Martin Odegaard injury

If Odegaard is missing alongside Rice, it seems almost certain that Kai Havertz will drop back into one of the midfield roles, but that still leaves a vacancy, probably on the right side.

Arsenal might hand Ethan Nwaneri his first start, there’s no doubt that he has the quality, but Arteta has been hesitant to put too much pressure on his young players to date.

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Therefore, either Emile Smith Rowe or Fabio Vieira would have been perfect in this situation, had they not departed in the summer.

It’s hard to debate Smith Rowe’s move, the midfielder deserved a new chance and Arsenal recouped a good fee.

However, after just two absences for Arsenal (Rice and Odegaard) the decision to let Vieira head back to FC Porto on loan already looks a peculiar one.

The £34m midfielder is evidently full of talent, and could have seamlessly replaced Odegaard for the derby, even if Arsenal would have surrendered some leadership in the process. 

Yes, Vieira needed game time and presumably lacked confidence at this point, but Arsenal didn’t quite have sufficient cover to let him go.

Arsenal should take a risk on Ethan Nwaneri vs Tottenham

Of course, without Odegaard, Smith Rowe or Vieira available, all roads point to Nwaneri.

As mentioned, Arteta has been reluctant to throw youngsters into the deep end so far at Arsenal, but it seems as if he has little choice against Spurs.

Perhaps Jorginho and Thomas Partey could be used in a double-pivot, or maybe Timber plays alongside the Ghanaian with Havertz just in front.

But given his talent and the pre-season he enjoyed, now could be the perfect time for Nwaneri to enter the fold – emulating how Cesc Fabregas was launched into the first team in years gone by.

That’s not to rule Odegaard out at this point, but his involvement has to be considered increasingly unlikely.