Mikel Arteta provides positive update on Martin Odegaard return ahead of Arsenal vs Southampton

The Gunners boss has given the latest on the fitness of his captain ahead of their Premier League clash at Emirates Stadium on Saturday

Mikel Arteta has provided a positive update on the fitness of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.

The 25-year-old has been absent since picking up an ankle injury during Norway's UEFA Nations League clash with Austria last month. Speaking not long after, Arteta confirmed that Odegaard was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

"After recent scans the scans showed that he’s got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle," the Spaniard said. "We’re gonna miss him. I don’t want to do (give a timeline on his return) because I’m not a doctor. But it’s something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while."

In the time since then Odegaard has been wearing a protective boot as he continues to recover from the injury. Speaking ahead of Arsenal's clash with Southampton though, Arteta revealed that the Norwegian is now walking without it ahead of schedule.

"I expected still with the boot and a lot of things (at this point)," Arteta said. "But he’s working so hard and he’s feeling good and he’s pushing it"

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In Odegaard's absence, Arsenal have coped by playing Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard together as dual false nines. The system has helped the Gunners to remain unbeaten and pick up crucial results against Manchester City, Tottenham and PSG. Despite all the positives though, Arteta is still very keen to get Odegaard back as soon as possible.

"We had to be different," he said of the switch. "The impact that Martin has in everything we do is too big to try to replicate it with one player. We tried to do it in a different way by adapting a few things and playing on players’ qualities, players who can play in spaces and positions with the right chemistry around them.

"Maybe it took a game or two before everything started to flow a bit better, but I think we have found a way. But we still miss him (Martin) a lot as he is one of the most important players for us."

Arsenal are set to also be without Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko for Saturday's clash with Southampton. Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White will face late fitness tests, while Mikel Merino could finally be in line to make his Premier League debut.

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