Martin Odegaard could make his first appearance for Arsenal since August when the Gunners travel to Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
The Arsenal captain has been out of action with an ankle injury picked up playing for Norway at the start of September.
Odegaard, however, trained with his Arsenal team-mates on Tuesday morning and could make his comeback at the San Siro in what is a huge Champions League clash for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The midfielder would most likely be involved from the bench given how long he has spent out and due to the fact Arsenal travel to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
“The positive news is it’s great to have Martin back,” said Arteta. “Obviously he’s trained with us for the first time, a full session today.
“He felt good, it’s a bit earlier than we expected, but he wanted to be with the team, so we’ll decide tomorrow whether we use him, but at least it’s a big step that he’s travelled with us and is part of the team.”
Ben White could return to the starting XI against Inter after coming off the bench for the final 19 minutes of Saturday’s defeat to Newcastle.
The defender was left out of the squad who won 3-0 at Preston in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday due to a joint issue. He trained fully with the rest of the squad on Tuesday morning.
Declan Rice, though, will miss the trip to Inter Milan due to a foot issue and he is also a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
“Declan unfortunately has picked up an injury against Newcastle,” said Arteta. “He was able to finish the game but he wasn’t feeling good in the last few days so we have to assess him on Thursday to understand whether he will be fit or not for the weekend.
“It was a knock so it’s a problem with his foot. He wasn’t comfortable with it so at the moment he’s not fit.”
Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both still out with knee injuries and are not expected to be back for Sunday’s game at Chelsea, either.
Arsenal predicted XI (4-4-2): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Saka, Partey, Merino, Sterling; Havertz, Jesus
Injured: Calafiori (knee), Rice (foot), Tierney (hamstring), Tomiyasu (knee)
Arsenal squad from: Neto, Raya, Setford; Gabriel, Heaven, Kiwior, Saliba, Timber, White, Zinchenko; Havertz, Jorginho, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Nwaneri, Odegaard, Partey; Jesus, Martinelli, Saka, Sterling and Trossard.
Time and date: 8pm GMT on Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Istvan Kovacs
TV and live stream: TNT Sports
