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Mikel Arteta could again be without his Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard for the Champions League clash against Sevilla. The Norway international has struggled to match his output from last season, with it being revealed after the clash against Sheffield United that a hip injury had been plaguing him for a number of weeks.
After the 5-0 win, Arteta said: "We went through all the minutes that everybody has played the last three weeks and some of them played an enormous amount of minutes. Martin has been as well carrying a little thing that wasn't very comfortable in the games. So we have players with enormous quality and we have to choose and we believe that it was the right day to do so."
The injury was confirmed as minor as Odegaard came on and scored in the final knockings of the 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham. However, the 24-year-old was not in the matchday squad for the trip to Newcastle as football.london understands he was assessed ahead of the trip to Tyneside but was ultimately ruled out.
A return for Odegaard currently is unknown with Arteta's latest update not giving too much away, despite confirming the availability of Gabriel Jesus. "Gabby won’t be fit, with Martin it is still uncertain, the rest no news so far." The Brazil international picked up a hamstring injury against Sevilla in Spain with a return possibly coming in the November international break.
Elsewhere, Eddie Nketiah is also a doubt for the game after he was not seen in the open training session held at London Colney on Tuesday. football.london he picked up a knock against Newcastle, although it is not believed to be serious and therefore he could still be involved against Sevilla.
Emile Smith Rowe has already been ruled out of the clash after Arteta provided a rough timeline on his knee injury last week. He said: "He felt something in his knee and started to feel some pain after the game - we are assessing him, but [it’s] a big worry with him. He's going to be out for weeks."
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Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber are the remaining long-term absentees with the latter likely out until February 2024 at least. Partey meanwhile, is currently working through his second injury of the season with this issue possibly keeping him out until the end of the year.
With that said, here is the expected 21-man squad Arteta may name compiled of names from the A list and B list submitted to UEFA earlier this year, with numerous spots available to fill the injury gaps if Arteta deems it necessary.
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya, Karl Hein.
Defenders: Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jakub Kiwior, William Saliba
Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny, Jorginho, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard (doubt), Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira.
Attackers: Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah (doubt).
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