Arsenal's Martin Odegaard to miss Liverpool clash?

Arsenal will reportedly have to cope without Martin Odegaard for Thursday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg with Liverpool.

The former Real Madrid man enjoyed a stellar December with the Gunners, registering three goals and three assists to be nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted in his pre-match press conference that the team's situation was "extremely volatile" due to injuries and coronavirus, without naming any fresh concerns.

However, Goal reports that Odegaard missed training on Thursday and did not travel with the squad to Anfield, so the Gunners will be forced to cope without the Norway captain tonight.

The report adds that Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also expected to remain absent, but there is hope that Granit Xhaka will return from his battle with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been boosted by the returns of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker to training ahead of the first leg, which was originally postponed due to a batch of Reds coronavirus cases that have since turned out to be false positives.