Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to seven matches by beating West Ham 2-0 on Saturday, but there were two new injury concerns to bring them crashing back down to Earth at full-time.
Martin Odegaard, only recently back from a shoulder injury, was withdrawn with a knee injury with barely half an hour played, while Declan Rice was hauled off with back pain in the second half.
Mikel Arteta’s side have managed to overcome their considerable injury woes in the early stages of this season, and will hope to have a fully fit squad available after the October international break.
Here’s all the latest Arsenal injury news…
Martin Odegaard
Arsenal’s captain Martin Odegaard set an unwanted record on Saturday as he became the first player ever to be substituted off before half time in three consecutive matches.
He was hooked against West Ham after knocking knees with Crysencio Summerville. He twice attempted to play on, but was ultimately replaced by Martin Zubimendi.
Speaking at full-time, Mikel Arteta said the player was “not positive” about the injury.
“He had a clash, knee to knee. Immediately, he was uncomfortable,” he explaiend. “He’s not positive about it. He has a brace on it. Hopefully it’s not that bad.
Arsenal confirmed on Sunday that the midfielder has suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee, and has subsequently withdrawn from international duty with Norway. No timeline has been given his a return to action.
Potential return date: Unknown

Martin Odegaard was withdrawn early against West Ham
Action Images via Reuters
Declan Rice
Declan Rice opened the scoring against West Ham on Saturday, but was also unable to complete the full affair.
He dropped to the turf with just over ten minutes left to play, holding his lower back.
Arteta said: “He had a clash, knee to knee. Immediately, he was uncomfortable.
“He’s not positive about it. He has a brace on it. Hopefully it’s not that bad.
“We haven’t had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury. We have to wait and see the extent of that injury.”
The severity of his injury is not yet clear, but Standard Sport understands Rice will report for England duty on Monday.
Potential return date: Unknown
Noni Madueke
Noni Madueke was just finding his feet at the Emirates when he was struck down with a knee injury.
He was withdrawn at half-time in a 1-1 draw with Man City, with Arteta later revealing he was set for months on the sidelines.
Speaking post-match, Arteta said: “He had an issue very early in the match and he wasn’t well enough to continue.”
Potential return date: Late November
Piero Hincapie
Piero Hincapie joins his fellow summer signing Madueke on the physio’s table, suffering from a groin injury.
Before facing West Ham, Arteta said of the Ecuadorian: “We’ve been trying to do everything as fast as possible [to get him fit], but this game came too fast. Now we have an international break, so hopefully, after that, he will have a couple of sessions with the team and be ready to go.”
He will hope to be back in contention immediately after the international break.
Potential return date: October 18, vs Fulham (A)
Kai Havertz
Arsenal’s silky German Kai Havertz is yet to appear this season after undergoing knee surgery.
Arteta has confirmed that he is on the mend, building strength back into the injured knee in physiotherapy.
“He’s starting to load the knee and started to do some bits,” Arteta said.
“As I said before, I think we’re taking it from weeks to months. But knowing Kai, I cannot give you any timescale because I know what he’s going to try to do.
“So I think he’s in a good moment. It was a very tough decision for him to go and have that procedure done. But I think it was necessary and it was the right decision from the medical team to persuade him to do that.”
Potential return date: November
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus also remains sidelined as he recovers from an ACL injury.
He is training on grass, but has not been named in Arsenal’s Champions League squad, suggesting he will not be ready until the new year.
Arteta said earlier this month: “[Jesus] had major surgery that was going to take him many, many months.
“So, after discussing that with the medical staff and understanding the schedule that we had and when we thought that he could be available, that it would be between December and January, we decided to make that call, like we’ve done in the past with other players.
“Hopefully, we did it wrong and he comes back earlier. But at the moment, the provision was very clear.”
Potential return date: December/January
LIVERPOOL10 months ago