Arsenal injury update: Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Ben White latest news and return dates

Fixtures continue to come thick and fast as Arsenal battle fresh problems

Arsenal were without captain Martin Odegaard against Wolves on Saturday

Arsenal continue to have several key absentees as they look to keep pace with Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

William Saliba and Myles Lewis-Skelly returned in the battling win over Wolves on Saturday, but Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card in that match and faces a suspension unless it is overturned.

There was also fresh issues for Mikel Arteta to contend with, as Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino were ruled out of the trip to Molineux.

Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain on the sidelines, while injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus have left Arsenal short in forward areas.

Here’s a look at the latest Arsenal injuries…

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Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard was surprisingly left out of Arsenal’s squad to face Wolves over the weekend.

The Norwegian played the full 90 minutes in midweek against Dinamo Zagreb and then travelled with his Arsenal team-mates for the match at Molineux.

However, he then returned home due to illness, and Arteta could now save Odegaard for the Man City clash rather than risk him against Girona in the Champions League on Wednesday night

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“Martin was ill this morning and we had to send him back – he was nowhere near fit to play,” Arteta said of Odegaard’s absence against Wolves.

Potential return date: Manchester City (h) on Sunday February 2

Mikel Merino

Mikel Merino was not named in the squad for Arsenal’s win over Wolves.

The midfielder played the full 90 minutes in the draw with Aston Villa, before he was then named on the bench against Dinamo Zagreb.

Merino picked up an issue in training to rule him out of the Wolves match, but that does not appear to be a serious injury.