Persistent injury challenges for Martin Ødegaard marked the beginning of his season, as he was substituted during the 18th minute of Arsenal’s Premier League contest against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The source of Ødegaard’s distress would stem from an unfortunate encounter with a fellow player within the confines of the Emirates Stadium.
The Arsenal team leader experienced an awkward descent following inadvertent contact from Jurriën Timber, who was in pursuit of the ball against Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, located near the boundary of the penalty area.
Ødegaard departed from the field clutching his shoulder – an ailment that initially surfaced during Arsenal’s triumph over Leeds United on August 23rd. This shoulder complication also factored into his omission from Arsenal’s initial lineup during their 1-0 setback against Anfield, preceding the international break.
Ethan Nwaneri took over his position on the field.
Mikel Arteta has voiced discontent over frequent injuries affecting some vital players, both in the previous season and in the initial phase of the current one.
Bukayo Saka is presently in the process of regaining complete fitness; thankfully, the hamstring issue sustained during the Leeds match wasn’t as severe as originally predicted.
Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Christian Nørgaard are also currently unavailable to the Arsenal manager as each player is recovering from their respective injuries.
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