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With Martin Odegaard set to be available for selection once again, it means Arsenal's mini midfield crisis has eased sufficiently ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash against Brentford.
The playmaker's last appearance for club or country was at the beginning of the month when he came off the bench to score a consolation goal in the 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United as the Gunners were dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage.
Since then he's watched on from the sidelines after failing a fitness test ahead of the loss to Newcastle United as a result of taking a ball to the face during a training session and after being checked over for concussion he ended up missing subsequent games against Sevilla and Burnley before the international break.
During this period, Odegaard, who had also been dealing with an unrelated hip problem, has since returned to full training and looks set to be in contention for the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium in a huge boost for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta who will be without three senior midfielders.
Thomas Partey is sidelined after undergoing a specialist procedure for treatment on his thigh, football.london understands a knee problem is set to keep Emile Smith Rowe out of action until next month and Fabio Vieira is suspended for the London derby after being sent-off against the Clarets.
Safe to say Odegaard's likely return comes at the perfect time for the north London outfit. But is an immediate return to the starting lineup on the cards? That is possible given he should be the freshest midfield option as Declan Rice, Jorginho, Kai Havertz and Mohamed Elneny have all been away on international duty.
READ MORE: Jesus starts, Odegaard return, Havertz dropped - Arteta's strongest Arsenal team vs Brentford
READ MORE: Premier League confirm two Arsenal stars Mikel Arteta is guaranteed to be without vs Brentford
To provide Arteta with some assistance over the midfield selection against the Bees, some Arsenal supporters on X (formerly known as Twitter) have suggested the Spaniard does something very different. For example, @OwenBrear said: "If Jesus gets fit and available I’m sorry but Trossard needs to be starting next to Odegaard with Rice in the 6."
This is something @brodudemanyo can get on board with having noted: "Trossard should be CAM or LCM. Together with Rice & Odegaard that would be an unstoppable midfield," meanwhile @zelda5_iam has also tipped the Belgium international for a midfield role on Saturday.
A midfield trio of Declan Rice, Odegaard and Leandro Trossard is something that's never been seen before at Arsenal - certainly not from the start of a game. But interestingly, the latter who usually operates out wide or as the central striker, has recently declared himself an option in the engine room.
"That’s a tough question," he told the club's official website when asked which position he feels more comfortable in. "I don’t really mind playing all of those positions up top, to be fair. If it’s left winger, as a false nine, even as an attacking midfielder, I don’t really have a straight answer for that.
"[As a kid I played] as a number ten, like a proper attacking midfielder back in the old days, or as a striker as well. I always try to be in the box and in good positions to score goals and with the quality that we have, I know I have to be there, especially if I play on the left wing, I need to be there when, for example, Bukayo Saka is on the ball on the right side, so yeah I follow my instinct there, to be honest, to get in the right positions to score goals."
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