Arsenal won’t have Martin Odegaard vs. Man City, but they’re getting the next best thing

Arsenal supporters were upset and nervous when captain Martin Odegaard suffered an injury during international duties for Norway against Austria, and, now, it appears his ankle injury is more serious than initially feared with follow-up scans showing ligament damage.

Odegaard will miss several matches, if not months, for Arsenal, taking one of the best playmakers and all-around attacking midfielders in world football away from the Gunners.

This weekend, Arsenal will face Manchester City in an early-season title-decider for the Premier League crown, and, needless to say, they’ll have to get a result on Sunday afternoon at the Etihad without Odegaard available.

Arsenal can start Kai Havertz in the attacking midfield with Gabriel Jesus back at striker, but the biggest boost for the Gunners this weekend will actually be a loss on the other side of the coin.

Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne left Wednesday night’s 0-0 draw in the Champions League to Inter Milan with an apparent injury, and he has been ruled out of this weekend’s Premier League action, per the Mirror.

This is in large part due to Man City’s desire to play things safe with the aging attacking midfielder, who remains the best playmaker in world football with four key passes per game in the Premier League this season.

As important as a fixture against Arsenal is in the title race, Man City know that if they lose De Bruyne for more months because of an aggravation to this injury, they will drop more points to the Gunners in the long run.

Odegaard means so much to Arsenal, but if Arsenal can’t have him available against Man City, the next best thing from their perspective is to not have to deal with the best passing chance-creator on the planet.

For those worried about De Bruyne’s long-term status, this injury isn’t expected to be one that costs the Belgian superstar a significant number of games, so, unfortunately, Arsenal are still in the tougher spot because of the apparent severity of Odegaard’s ankle injury. May both wonderful footballers recover swiftly.