Troy Deeney thinks Mikel Arteta’s summer decision may frustrate Arsenal fans after Martin Odegaard’s injury

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Arsenal’s worst fears came true over the last 24 hours with Martin Odegaard picking up what appeared to be a significant injury on international duty.

Mikel Arteta will now be waiting anxiously for the results to come back on Odegaard’s injury scare with the midfielder returning from international duty.

Odegaard has already boarded a flight back to London where he will likely undergo scans on his ankle which appeared to give way.

But with the North London Derby now just a matter of days away, it has been a dreadful turn of events for the Gunners.

Considering Declan Rice is also suspended for the game against Tottenham, Arteta is going to have some serious selection decisions to make.

And it seems as if Troy Deeney feels some of the headaches Arteta is about to experience could have been avoided over the summer.

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What Arsenal did over the summer which they may now regret

Arsenal’s summer transfer business was certainly selective with the Gunners only bringing in four new faces over the window.

And it has to be remembered that two of those landed on loan in the final hours of deadline day.

But the north London side were also keen to offload some players over the summer with Eddie Nketiah leaving Arsenal for Crystal Palace.

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In the wake of Odegaard’s injury scare, Deeney believes Arteta could well now be regretting the decision to sell Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham for £35m.

“I think this is where the frustration for some Arsenal fans I know in terms of letting go of Emile Smith Rowe,” Deeney said on TalkSPORT on Tuesday morning.

“He is not the same player as Odegaard by any stretch, but he would certainly offer a bridge-gap in that moment. And now you are going to look at probably dropping Havertz back a bit, maybe put Jesus in there, but I think he is injured as well as I am saying that.”

Mikel Arteta set for North London Derby selection headache

Even if Arsenal still had Smith Rowe at the club, there may be questions as to whether he would even play on the weekend considering he would not be match fit.

Losing Rice to suspension was enough of an issue for the Gunners but potentially losing Odegaard to something much more serious will be a real concern.

Thankfully, Arsenal brought in some creativity on deadline day with the addition of Raheem Sterling who may well be in line to make his debut now.

Arsenal fans will have their fingers crossed the issue to Odegaard is nothing overly serious, but the images did not look good on Monday night.