Mikel Arteta has described losing Martin Odegaard as "a great test" as Arsenal prepare to be without their influential captain for an extended period.
Arsenal fans may have chosen some more colourful language, and whether the Gunners pass or fail this examination will surely go a long way to determining the success of their season.
Arteta confirmed on Wednesday night Odegaard sustained "significant" ankle ligament damage playing for Norway last week.
Odegaard will miss tonight's Champions League opener against Atalanta in Italy and Sunday's Premier League showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad.
Since Odegaard was named Arsenal captain in 2022, he has missed just five Premier League games
Being without Odegaard is rare for Arsenal and the challenge for Arteta is ensuring his absence does not detail their season.
Since Odegaard was named captain in 2022, he has missed just five Premier League games. The midfielder is integral to how Arsenal play and they must find a way for their attack to fire without him. Also without the ball, Odegaard leads the Arsenal press, which helped them have the best defence in the Premier League last season.
Replacing that will be just as hard as finding someone to fill his creative void.
"Our identity is very related to his way of playing and his way of behaving," said Arteta (left in Bergamo last night). "We are going to have to deal with that.
"That is a great test for the team as well, of how capable we are to show maybe a different face and the fact we have other players and other options that can still be very effective."
Arsenal found a solution for Sunday's 1-0 north London derby win at Tottenham, playing in a 4-4-2 formation without the ball, hitting Spurs on the counter and scoring from a set-piece.
They can employ the same tactic tonight against a dangerous Atalanta side who won the Europa League last season and will pose a real threat through players such asAdemola Lookman.
The Gunners are also likely to set up that way at the Etihad on Sunday, but long-term Arteta will have to find more ways of playing without Odegaard.
The return of Declan Rice will help. The midfielder is back tonight after serving his one-match domestic suspension at Spurs. Rice allows Arteta to return to his preferred 4-3-3 set-up as he can play as the left No8 in the midfield. Jorginho or Thomas Partey can sit in front of the defence, but the question is who replaces Odegaard as the final piece of the midfield jigsaw.
Kai Havertz is the most obvious solution and he started all three games in Odegaard’s position last term when the Norwegian was out.
Havertz’s link-play is excellent, as is his work off the ball, making him the ideal fit. The drawback is Arsenal lose his presence up front.
That is why Ethan Nwaneri may get a chance over the coming weeks. Trips to Atalanta and City are not an ideal time to blood a 17-year-old, but after this week Arsenal have three home games in a row against Bolton, Leicester and Southampton.
Nwaneri excelled in pre-season, effectively playing as Odegaard’s understudy, and Arsenal showed their faith in him by letting Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira leave in the summer.
They would not have envisaged Nwaneri being parachuted into the team so early but, now the moment is here, Nwaneri is an option Arteta will have to consider.
To replace Odegaard’s guile, Arteta must not be afraid to get creative himself.
