Mikel Arteta provides injury updates on key Arsenal duo after West Ham win

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has commented on the injury situations of key midfield duo Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice after Saturday’s 2-0 win over West Ham.

It was a comfortable win for the North London side, having dominated the possession of the ball and created more chances in the game.

The three points are also huge, as depending on the result in the game between Chelsea and Liverpool, Arsenal may end up topping the league table.

Unfortunately, the win came at a cost.

Two key Arsenal players suffered injuries and had to be substituted off during the match.

First, it was Odegaard, who was only on the pitch for 30 minutes before being replaced by Zubimendi.

“Well, I think he had a clash knee-to-knee, and immediately he was uncomfortable,” Arteta said about Odegaard’s injury update in the post-match press conference.

“I just spoke to him, he’s not positive about it, he’s got a brace on, we’ll have to wait and see from the doctors, but we haven’t been very lucky with that either.”

This is the third time Odegaard has had to be replaced mid-game, having previously picked up a shoulder injury against Leeds United in August and re-aggravated that injury less than a month later against Nottingham Forest.

Rice’s injury

The second player was Rice, who scored the opening goal for Arsenal in the game.

Rice left the game for Mikel Merino in the 79th minute due to a back injury.

“Well, he’s not because he asked me to come off, so that’s a shame,” Arteta explained.

“He had pain in his back, and he could not carry on, which is something very unusual for Declan, so we’ll have to assess him and see how he is.”

Fortunately for Arsenal, the upcoming international break could give them the time to assess the pair’s injury situations.

Rice has recently made in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the international break, but depending on the result of expected scans, the midfielder may have to miss out on international duty this time.

Arsenal will be back in action on October 18, with a visit to Fulham’s Craven Cottage.