Odegaard injury sours landmark Arsenal win as Saka hits new milestone | OneFootball

Arsenal extended their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a dominant 2–0 victory over West Ham, but the afternoon was overshadowed by another injury setback for captain Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian midfielder lasted just 32 minutes before limping off following a knee-to-knee clash. Worryingly, he’s now become the first Premier League player to be substituted before half-time due to injury in three consecutive league games this season.

Odegaard left the stadium wearing a knee brace, and while Mikel Arteta refused to speculate on the severity, the signs weren’t encouraging.

“I just spoke to him, he’s not positive about it,” the Arsenal boss admitted. “We’ll have to wait and see from the doctors. We haven’t been very lucky with that either. He’s our captain and a player that gives us a completely different dimension, especially in attacking. Hopefully it’s not that bad.”

It was a frustrating moment in what should have been a celebratory day for Arteta. The Spaniard marked his 300th game in charge of the club with another statement victory. Arsenal were in control from the first whistle, scoring in the first half through Declan Rice and later on from a Bukayo Saka penalty. They rarely looking troubled thereafter.

Martin Zubimendi came off the bench to help see the game out after Ødegaard’s injury forced an early midfield reshuffle.

Arteta was delighted with how his side responded to recent disappointments against West Ham, having lost their previous two home meetings.

“We had very difficult fixtures since the start of the season, some very bad injuries as well, not helping, and still the team is performing, playing well and winning today with absolute dominance,” he said.

“It’s good to get to an international break in this period.”

Saka’s contribution was a reminder of how far Arsenal’s young star has already come. The 24-year-old made his 200th Premier League appearance, reaching 100 goal involvements in the process. “When you look at those numbers, it’s unbelievable,” Arteta said. “At his age, what he’s doing and the manner that he’s doing it is really impressive. That’s the kind of player we need to achieve what we want.”

There were also injury concerns over Rice, who went off with back pain in the second half. But the result keeps Arsenal in the title mix ahead of a more forgiving run of fixtures after the international break. Arteta’s side have the chance to build momentum, assuming they can keep their key men fit.