Arsenal have been handed a fresh injury concern over captain Martin Odegaard, who is not fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with Newcastle United.
The former Real Madrid man was a notable absentee from the starting lineup against Sheffield United last weekend, with Mikel Arteta confirming that he had been nursing a hip niggle for a while.
Odegaard was unsurprisingly left out of the XI for Wednesday's EFL Cup showdown versus West Ham United, where a second-string side were torn to shreds by David Moyes's team at the London Stadium.
Despite being 3-0 down heading into the final 10 minutes, Mikel Arteta called upon his big hitters in Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, drawing criticism from Gooners with the tie already dead and buried.
Odegaard did register a consolation with the last kick of the game as Arsenal crashed out in the fourth round, and Arteta offered an optimistic update on his fitness in Friday's press conference.
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"We have tried to offload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was grumbling with. He felt much better in the last few days," the Spaniard told the media.
"We gave a few minutes against West Ham which was good to see, and his contribution was really good. He will train today and if he's fine he will be ready."
However, Odegaard appears to have suffered a recurrence of his injury in Friday's training session following the news conference, as he did not make the matchday squad entirely at St James' Park.
Speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of kickoff, Arteta did not go into specific details about Odegaard's affliction, only stating that his skipper was "not fit" for the contest.
With Odegaard missing from the ranks, Jorginho, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were selected as the midfield three for the meeting with Newcastle, with the latter seemingly occupying his captain's usual number 10 spot.
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It remains to be seen whether Odegaard will be ready to return for next Wednesday's Champions League clash with Sevilla at the Emirates, although he is not believed to be nursing anything serious.
The 24-year-old has been a hugely influential figure in the Arsenal midfield since first joining on loan in 2021, scoring 29 goals and setting up 16 more in 120 matches across all tournaments.
Arsenal had already been dealt an untimely midfield blow ahead of their loss to West Ham, as it was confirmed that Odegaard's fellow playmaker Emile Smith Rowe would be sidelined for weeks with a knee injury.
Thomas Partey (muscle) and Gabriel Jesus (hamstring) have similar timeframes in their recoveries, while Jurrien Timber is fighting an uphill battle to return from his ACL problem before the end of the season.
Victory for Arsenal at St James' Park by at least five goals would temporarily take them to the top of the table before Tottenham Hotspur return to action against Chelsea on Monday.
Ben Knapton
