Martin Odegaard set for shoulder scan | OneFootball

Martin Odegaard’s afternoon against Leeds ended early after the captain landed awkwardly on his shoulder, raising immediate concern over his availability for Arsenal’s trip to Anfield next weekend.

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The captain landed awkwardly just 15 minutes into the match and though he attempted to continue, he was visibly in discomfort. After another 20 minutes he signalled to the bench, unable to move his right arm freely, and was replaced in the 38th minute by 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.

The early indications pointed to a shoulder problem, leaving Arsenal with an anxious wait on the severity of the injury and whether he will be fit for next weekend’s trip to Anfield.

After the game, Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports, “Martin looks like a shoulder, so he will have a scan tomorrow to understand how bad it is.”

In his press conference, he added, “That’s the negatives of the day. Martin felt something in his shoulder when he landed. We don’t know, we’ll have to scan him tomorrow and understand a bit better. And Bukayo, while he was carrying the ball, wrestling with the defender, he felt something in his hamstring. Let’s see, I think it’s the other one, it’s not the same one as the previous injury. We’ve been two weeks and we’ve already lost Kai, Martin and Bukayo, so it tells you how well-equipped you have to be in this league to manage and to maintain the level that we want.”

Ødegaard’s withdrawal came on a day when Arsenal otherwise looked unstoppable. Jurriën Timber opened the scoring on 34 minutes, Saka doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time, and Ødegaard’s replacement Nwaneri helped the Gunners cut Leeds apart at will. Timber struck again early in the second half before Viktor Gyökeres scored his first Arsenal goal from a Riccardo Calafiori assist.

Gyökeres later converted a stoppage-time penalty won by 15-year-old Max Dowman, who impressed with his direct running after being brought on with half an hour still to play.

With Bukayo Saka also forced off in the second half with a hamstring issue, Arsenal’s comfortable win became a reminder of the bad luck that can undermine even the most commanding performances.

Timber’s goals, Gyökeres’s brace, Eze’s arrival and Dowman’s emergence should have dominated the headlines. Instead, as supporters filed out of the Emirates, the question on everyone’s lips was the same: how bad is Ødegaard’s injury, and what does it mean for Liverpool next week?