Arsenal 2-0 West Ham: Martin Odegaard sets unique and unwanted Premier League record with latest injury blow

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard achieved a unique and unwanted Premier League first as the Gunners captain is substituted in the first half of Saturday's 2-0 win over West Ham United.

Mikel Arteta's men leapfrogged Liverpool into first place in the Premier League table with a routine victory over the Irons, as Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka struck either side of the break.

Rice firstly finished into the roof of the net after Eberechi Eze's shot was parried into his path by Alphonse Areola, before Saka crashed home a second-half penalty on his 200th Premier League appearance.

The Gunners also snapped a two-game home losing run against West Ham in the process, but the result was partially overshadowed by a fresh injury to Odegaard, whose luckless streak continued with a new knee problem.

The Norway international came off worse in a knee-on-knee clash with West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville, and despite initially trying to play through the pain, he was taken off for Martin Zubimendi in the 30th minute.

Arsenal's Odegaard sets unique Premier League record with new injury

Odegaard's withdrawal came after he was also forced off in the first half of home wins over Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, sustaining freak shoulder injuries on both occasions.

Following his early change today, Odegaard is now the first-ever Premier League player to be substituted before half time in three successive starts in the competition.

Arteta will no doubt be pressed for an update in his post-game press conference, but given that the incident seemed to stem from a collision, there is hope that his problem is nothing more than a contact injury.

However, Odegaard is an early doubt for Norway's upcoming games against Israel and New Zealand, and he may need to be assessed before Arsenal's first game back against Fulham on October 18.

Odegaard injury: Bad luck or something sinister for Arsenal?

In 2025, Arsenal are fortunate to emerge from any match without a new concern on the fitness front, and Odegaard's record-breaking withdrawal today will no doubt raise eyebrows.

From those on the outside looking in - especially those of us without medical degrees or coaching badges - it is easy to either blame Arteta's training methods or the care given by the physios/medical team for Arsenal's repeated injury concerns.

However, the truth is that Odegaard's three separate blows have been almost purely down to rotten luck; two awkward landings on his shoulder and now a knee-on-knee collision with an opposing player.

We say 'almost' as Odegaard's back-to-back shoulder injuries may hint at some weakness in that area, but more than anything else, the skipper's concerns are simply a case of extremely bad misfortune for the Gunners.

Nevertheless, with Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri and even Max Dowman capable of pulling the creative strings, Arsenal can cope without their captain if today's issue proves more severe than first thought.