The Martin Odegaard injury dilemma Mikel Arteta must solve as Arsenal options assessed

Arsenal entered the international break top of the Premier League table but will now be without their captain, Martin Odegaard, until at least the November international break, a big blow for Mikel Arteta's men

Already this season, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is facing an early test. The absence of Martin Odegaard, their captain, is a big blow.

Arsenal face being without arguably their most creative player until at least the November international break with a knee ligament injury. The Gunners are set to be missing their skipper for up to six games.

A similarly serious blow hit them hard last season. The Norwegian was out for an extended period with an ankle injury suffered while on international duty with Norway and then struggled to recapture his best form upon he returned. Arsenal fans duly only saw flashes of his brilliance.

Since, there have been questions asked of Odegaard as captain, particularly when he hasn't been up to his usual high standards. There were times when you could see from his body language that his own confidence had been affected.

There is a real shame at play about Odegaard's injury-plagued start to 2025-26; his pre-season was brilliant, he was fit, sharp, ready and raring to go. He looked back to his best and was confident again. His team-mates had noticed too.

But then came the shoulder injury - first suffered against Leeds and then it recurred against Nottingham Forest - and now a knee injury against West Ham.

There's an argument previously that Arteta has been guilty of rushing players back too soon after injury. But Odegaard’s latest injury was just pure bad luck, a knee injury, he hadn't come back too soon - and Arsenal now have such strength in depth that they don't have to bring players back before they're 100 per cent ready.

His absence does leave Arsenal with options over what to do next. The obvious replacements for Odegaard as a No.10 are Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri.

Eze was bought from Crystal Palace because of what he can offer both centrally and also from the left. He has a physicality which makes him a big threat but also the ability, like Odegaard, to just drift past players, taking them out of the game with a simple side step.

Eze has shown flashes of his potential and did well at Newcastle - before Odegaard came on and arguably changed the game in Arsenal’s favour.

Nwaneri has a big season ahead and is a very interesting player. He could have gone in the summer, Borussia Dortmund made a big push and really wanted him. But Arsenal persuaded him his future was best served staying in north London.

However, he needs to play. Game time has been limited so far and if he doesn't get more opportunities - particularly when Odegaard is out - he might question whether he made the right decision to stay put.

He is a special talent and Arsenal will want to nurture him, develop him and keep him happy. But there's extra depth in the wide areas now too, so it's not easy for him to find minutes.

Arteta could also change shape in midfield, turning around what the midfield trio looks like, with Martin Zubimendi as the No.6, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino alongside him. It is a set-up which Arteta has tried and been criticised for previously, perceived as being negative and playing with the handbrake on.

Whichever way Arteta goes, there's no doubt Arsenal have serious options. Last summer's big spending gave him that.

They sit top of the table, and now should, should have the strength in depth to cope with injuries. A year ago, when Odegaard went down, there was a sense of panic.

Now, that's not the case. Certainly, it doesn't feel like that.

But in the end, it will only matter if they're top of the table when the season ends.