BREAKING NEWS: Andrea Berta have already completed underground agreement as £120M duo set to arrive by January as perfect Ødegaard and Martinelli replacement after yesterday board meeting
After last season’s title challenge was derailed by injuries, Arsenal addressed this by recruiting heavily in the summer transfer window, and it’s just as well.
Piero Hincapié, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus all missed Saturday’s win over West Ham, in which Martin Ødegaard suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee, which is set to see him sidelined for around a month.
Odegaard-Arsenal
Meantime, William Saliba, Benjamin White, Bukayo Saka, Christian Nørgaard and others have already sat out matches due to more minor injuries this season, underlining the need for a gigantic squad.
Nevertheless, the fabled ‘when everyone is fit’ scenario could cause Mikel Arteta selection issues, forced to leave senior players out of a 20-man matchday squad entirely, so does one member of Arsenal’s current starting lineup need to up his game to avoid being evicted from the XI?
The latest on Arsenal’s injury situation
This has been a rough year for the Gunners on the injury front. Bukayo Saka spent the early months of the campaign out while Gabriel also suffered a major hamstring injury towards the end of 2024/25.
Odegaard has also endured a tough time, picking up yet another problem at the weekend.
Safe to say his recent injury history is a cause for concern. At the weekend, he became the first player in history to be subbed in the first half of three consecutive Premier League matches
Martin Odegaard injury history
His best pal, Havertz, has also found life difficult this year.
After being widely mocked and ridiculed following his £65m move from Chelsea, the German flipped the script by scoring 14 goals during his first season in North London, before adding a further 15 last season.
However, in 2025 so far, the Germany international has seen just 817 minutes of action across all competitions, sitting out 29 matches, and counting.
First, Havertz underwent surgery in February after suffering a serious hamstring injury during the warm weather training camp in Dubai.
Chalkboard FFC
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Then, on the opening day of this season, during his 30-minute cameo, the forward sustained a knee injury at Old Trafford, one that required a minor surgical procedure.
Arsenal forward Kai Havertz
Arsenal forward Kai Havertz
This occurred on 17 August, with Havertz forecast to be sidelined for between two and three months, which could see him back in the coming weeks, likely to be in contention by the time Arsenal face Tottenham, Bayern Munich and then Chelsea in the space of eight days at the end of November.
What Kai Havertz’s return means for the Arsenal squad
In the meantime, not ready to return just yet, one current starter will be under pressure to improve his performances as a result.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz reacts
Football supporters love nothing more than a debate, and just how well Viktor Gyökeres has done so far at Arsenal is the hot topic currently at the top of the agenda.
So far, the Swedish striker has scored three goals in ten appearances, bagging a brace against Leeds, as well as netting against Nottingham Forest, both in home games.
Well, ahead of his team’s World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo, Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson believes the striker is in “very good form at the moment”, adding that those criticising him don’t “understand football”.
However, other opinions are widely available, with some asserting that he has so far struggled to make much of an impact, notably Gary Neville who said that he already looks like a bit of a “misfit” surrounded by the more technically gifted players at Arsenal.
