Martin Odegaard Injury: Arsenal and Mikel Arteta updates after early West Ham sub

Arsenal picked up three points with a convincing 2-0 win over struggling West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but there was still a blow dealt to the north London outfit during the victory.

The Gunners’ captain Martin Odegaard appeared to pick up an issue with his knee in the opening 20 minutes of the clash against West Ham. The midfielder voluntarily kicked the ball out of play in order to receive treatment on his left knee.

The 26-year-old was then judged to be fit enough to return to action but lasted just 10 minutes back on the turf before hitting the deck again. Odegaard put his hands on his head and was described as ‘dejected’ by BBC Final Score reporter Chris Wise.

Martin Odegaard injury

Wise said: “Odegaard's afternoon is over. Understandably he looks pretty dejected, he's only just come back from a shoulder injury. He's not managed to get through half an hour today. Arteta having to do a bit of a re-jig in midfield.”

Odegaard had been handed his first start in the Premier League since September 13, having missed multiple games with a shoulder injury. The playmaker missed matches against Manchester City, West Ham and Port Vale with the shoulder injury.

talkSPORT noted that Odegaard’s early substitution against West Ham meant he made Premier League history as the first player to be substituted before half time in three consecutive starts. He came off early against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest previously.

What has Mikel Arteta said?

Speaking after the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked for an update on Odegaard. Arteta said: “He’s not positive about it. He’s got a brace on it.”

That comes just days after Arteta had heaped praise on Odegaard for his showing against Olympiacos. Speaking after the Champions League win this week, he had said: "I think that creativity is his nature. It doesn't bring any pressure to him as it is his best ability to generate things that not a lot of players can do.

"He has my total freedom from my side to explore and take risks and to feel the movement in how he generates spaces - and he has done that the last two games."

When could Odegaard return for Arsenal?

Arsenal are afforded the luxury of an international break to get Martin Odegaard back to fitness. The Gunners are not in action next weekend and their next fixture comes against Fulham on Saturday, October 18 at 5:30 pm.

Odegaard had been included in the Norway squad for the upcoming fixtures over the international break. His nation faces Israel on October 11 and New Zealand on October 14. It remains to be seen whether the midfielder still plays for Norway, but it does feel unlikely.

Should he been given the green light for international action, then a return against Fulham is likely. Should he require a longer period on the sidelines, Arsenal may aim for his return to be against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 21 or Crystal Palace on October 26. There is then also the Carabao Cup Round of 16 meeting with Brighton before the end of October.

In other news, Fulham dealt injury blow ahead of Arsenal clash as Marco Silva makes 'tough' admission.