Martin Odegaard is fit and available for selection to hand Arsenal a massive boost ahead of their crunch Champions League clash with Inter Milan.
The Gunners have looked a different team without their chief creator, who has been absent since picking up an ankle injury on international duty at the start of the September.
Arsenal skipper Odegaard is back in training following two months out of action[/caption]
In Odegaard‘s absence, Arsenal have won just three out of seven Premier League matches, leaving them fifth in the table – seven points behind leaders Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta‘s men have often been forced to grind out results having lacked fluidity without the Norwegian playmaker, leading to criticism over the club’s style of play.
But he could now be set to finally grace the pitch after two months out of action against a rampant Inter Milan side.
“The positive news, Martin it’s great to have him back,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference.
“He trained with us first time today. He’s a bit earlier than expected. But it’s great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow.”
Inter, unbeaten from their opening three Champions League matches and sitting second in Serie A, are on paper Arsenal’s toughest fixture in the league stage of the European Cup.
Like Arsenal, Inter – renowned for their physicality – have failed to concede in Europe’s premier competition this term, and will likely prove to hard to break down.
Odegaard’s return couldn’t have come at a better time with Arsenal coming off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, with Chelsea next up in the top-flight on Sunday.
And Arteta will be keen to not only give Odegaard vital game time away at the San Siro on Wednesday night to get him back to speed, but for the 25-year-old to help Arsenal return to their free-flowing ways.
But while fans are jubilant over his return, Arsenal have been rocked by a minor knock picked up by defensive midfielder Declan Rice, who has not travelled to Italy.
“Declan unfortunately picked an injury against Newcastle,” Arteta revealed.
“He was able to finish and he wasn’t feeling good the last few days. We’ll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he’s ready for Chelsea.”
The England international’s omission will surely see a shake-up in both defence and midfield as a result.
Here talkSPORT.com takes a look at how Arsenal could line-up against Inter as they look to win a third consecutive Champions League game.
Starting between the sticks will be David Raya, who has been one of the standout goalkeepers in the Champions League so far – notably making a stunning double save in his previous outing in Italy at Atalanta.
Rice’s unavailability could see Ben White be recalled to right-back duty, which would see Thomas Partey return to his preferred No.6 role.
The Ghanaian has started as a right full-back in Arsenal’s last two league matches due to White being deployed as a centre-back against Liverpool, while a minor niggle saw him benched at St James’ Park.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes will once again be Arteta’s preferred centre-back pairing in the heart of defence.
And with Riccardo Calafiori still unavailable, Jurrien Timber is expected to keep deputising at left-back.
With Partey slotting back in his lone defensive midfield role, Mikel Merino could keep his place as a box-to-box midfielder.
Should Arteta decide to take a risk, he could then bring Odegaard back into his starting XI for the first time since August 31.
Arteta’s side are unbeaten from their opening three Champions League matches[/caption]
Bukayo Saka will almost certainly keep his spot on the right wing having been directly involved in 11 goals from 13 matches in all competitions this campaign.
Gabriel Martinelli could then be preferred ahead of Leandro Trossard on the left channel.
And Kai Havertz will likely lead the line yet again with the German the club’s top scorer this season with seven goals.
Arsenal’s meeting with Inter will be just the third time the two teams will have pitted their wits against each other in competitive football.
The duo squared off in the Champions League group stages in the 2003/04 season, with the pair boasting one win each.
And it was Arsenal who came out on top in their last encounter at the San Siro – thanks to a Thierry Henry-inspired display in a famous 5-1 victory.
