'I'm told...' - Intriguing Arsenal transfer prediction made as Gunners sweat over £35m star's fitness

Arsenal are said to be looking into signing an alternative for their injured club captain Martin Odegaard. Football Insider have reported that the Gunners are set to assess certain areas of their pitch where they feel strengthening is required, in a bid to further enhance their chances of winning the Premier League.

Odegaard, 25, sustained an ankle ligament injury while on international duty for Norway against Austria last month, and has since missed five games for his club. The Norwegian’s head coach Mikel Arteta confirmed to the media that the Gunners’ skipper would be ruled out ‘for a while’, and later reports added he was set to miss around eight weeks.

Influential winger Leandro Trossard has been taking Odegaard’s place in the meantime but Football Insider now report that Arsenal are targeting a specialist option to come into the team. Concerns have also risen in recent weeks about the level of depth in the dressing room should Declan Rice, William Saliba or Gabriel suffer any injury scares this season.

Speaking to the news outlet, recruitment expert Mick Brown, who worked at Manchester United for ten years, suggested that the Gunners are likely to keep improving their squad and that new additions could well be welcomed in January.

“I’m told Arsenal will be looking for another option in January”, Brown said. “What happens when you’re a team like Arsenal, who are improving and challenging for the title, the team that you’ve got is not going to be enough to sustain that.

“Odegaard has been injured, but what happens if Declan Rice gets injured? Or one of their centre-backs? They will, I’m sure, be looking at all aspects of their team to see the areas they need to improve.

“They’ll also be looking at the players available in the transfer market and wondering whether there’s anybody there that can improve them or provide backup.

“I think they’ve done well without Odegaard because he is instrumental to their team, but they want somebody who can fill in if he is forced to miss any games.”

Arsenal welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Emirates this evening, Tuesday 1 October, in the opening league phase of the UEFA Champions League. Belgian attacking star Trossard is once again predicted to fill the Odegaard-void as the Gunners seek their first European win of the 2024/25 campaign.