Arsenal face facing the prospect of entering this weekend’s North London derby without their first-choice midfield after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty.
Odegaard is a major doubt for the clash with Spurs after injuring his ankle in Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday night, with the Arsenal captain in visible discomfort as he was substituted.
Mikel Arteta is now sweating over the fitness of the midfielder ahead of a huge run of games for the Gunners, who face Europa League winners Atalanta in their Champions League opener and Manchester City in the Premier League immediately after facing Spurs.
Odegaard’s absence would pile on the problems for Arsenal who are already without Declan Rice. The England international is suspended following his controversial red card against Brighton before the international break.
Mikel Merino is also missing after the summer signing from Real Sociedad injured his shoulder in training. The Spaniard suffered a fracture after a collision with teammate Gabriel Maghalaes and is facing several weeks out. Merino is yet to make his debut for Arsenal.
Who will play in midfield for Arsenal this weekend?
The absence of the trio expected to form Arsenal’s first-choice midfield this season is a problem for Arteta, who must shuffle his pack.
Arsenal have insisted that Jorginho is not for sale in the wake of interest from Galatasaray and the Italian could make his first appearance of the season against Spurs this weekend.
Jorginho could deputise alongside Thomas Partey as Arsenal’s deepest-lying midfielders. Oleksandr Zinchenko, who operates in central midfield for Ukraine, is another option, while Kai Havertz could also be dropped into a deeper role.
