Martin Odegaard shares Arsenal injury update before Man City match as Mikel Arteta replacement options assessed

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has shared an update on his recovery from a shoulder injury ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester City.

The Norway skipper sustained his second shoulder problem in three matches during last weekend's 3-0 beating of Nottingham Forest, suffering an awkward fall as he got caught up in a Morgan Gibbs-White and Jurrien Timber 50-50.

Odegaard initially tried to soldier on - just as he did against Leeds United in August when he first injured his shoulder - but he eventually had to call it quits and was replaced by Ethan Nwaneri.

The playmaker's issue - which was to the same shoulder he hurt against the Whites last month - prevented him from turning out in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Athletic Bilbao, and Mikel Arteta was as tight-lipped as he could be when giving an update to the media on Friday.

However, speaking in his programme notes ahead of the visit of Pep Guardiola's side, Odegaard expressed hope that he would be fit to face the Citizens and lamented the "really bad luck" he had suffered in the early stages of the new season.

Odegaard hopeful of facing Man City after shoulder injury

"First, a quick update on my fitness. My shoulder was very sore, but I’ve just been taking it day by day this week, working hard to hopefully be ready in time for today’s game," Odegaard wrote. "It’s the same shoulder that I hurt in the Leeds United game, pretty much the same injury again, so it’s just really bad luck.

"The first injury had healed really well, I was over it – but then the same thing happened again. It had never happened to me in 11 years, but then it happens twice in two weeks so it’s a strange one, and very unfortunate.

"The challenge itself was fine. I think three of us went for the same ball, and I felt something connect with my foot which kind of flipped me forward, and I couldn’t do anything about how I landed.

"It was really tough to come off because I was excited to be playing at home again, feeling good after the internationals and really wanting to be out there after coming off in the Leeds game."

Odegaard's possible return to fitness would represent a third squad boost for Arteta in a matter of hours, as the Arsenal boss has already received two pieces of good news on the injury front ahead of Sunday's headline encounter.

Arsenal's three options to replace Odegaard in Man City clash

While Odegaard's pair of shoulder problems are indeed extremely unfortunate, the fact that the midfielder has now sustained more than one issue to the same area in a short space of time may make Arteta reluctant to throw him back in from the first whistle.

The Gunners boss is now blessed with significant strength in depth - which has never normally been the case since he took over in 2019 - and there are three alternative options available to him if he errs on the side of caution with Odegaard.

Arteta has trusted Mikel Merino in his captain's place against Liverpool and Athletic, but what the Spaniard can offer in physicality and energy, he lacks in creativity.

Nwaneri and Eberechi Eze could rectify the latter issue, but Arteta is still reluctant to deploy the former in a central role from the first whistle, potentially due to the responsibility of leading the press.

Eze switching sides is not beyond the realm of possibility, though, as the Englishman struggled to impress on the left against Athletic, and Arteta now has Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard banging on the door for starts after their goals and assists in San Mames.