Mikel Arteta reveals likely Martin Ødegaard return date

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that Martin Ødegaard is likely to be out for another few weeks.

The Norway international was injured playing for his country earlier this month and missed the Gunners’ crucial draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

But the Spanish tactician has revealed that the playmaker is likely to be absent into October.

“I think it will be a matter of weeks, but how long exactly I cannot tell,” Arteta told a press conference on Tuesday.

“We might get a surprise but I think it’s unlikely he’ll be back before the international break.”

Arteta was also asked to reflect on his side’s back-to-the-wall performance at the Etihad.

“Well we had to play the game that we had to play,” he said.

“The first 15 minutes, we couldn’t. They played 30 seconds with 10 men. Look what they did. It’s normal what they did.

Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation. We were in that same situation with Granit and we lost 5-0. We’d better learn. If not I would be very thick.”

Arteta was speaking ahead of Arsenal’s EFL Cup clash with Bolton on Wednesday.