Mikel Arteta faces a nervous wait over the fitness of Martin Ødegaard after the Arsenal captain limped off with a knee injury during the 2-0 win over West Ham. The Norwegian left the Emirates Stadium with his left knee in a brace following a clash with Crysencio Summerville before half-time.
This was the third successive Premier League match in which Ødegaard was substituted before half-time, a league first, with the club having previously withdrawn him due to a shoulder problem. Arteta expressed concern: “He had a clash knee-to-knee, and immediately he was uncomfortable. I just spoke to him, he’s not positive about it, he’s got a brace on. We’ll have to wait and see from the doctors.”
Declan Rice, who opened the scoring against his former club, also had to be withdrawn in the second half with a back injury, casting doubt on his availability for England’s upcoming matches against Wales and Latvia. Arteta said: “He asked me to come off, so that’s a shame. He had pain in his back and he could not carry on.”
Despite the injuries, Arsenal secured a comfortable victory with goals from Rice and Bukayo Saka. Saka, who scored a penalty on his 200th Premier League appearance, noted the team’s determination: “The last two seasons we slipped up at home against West Ham and we wanted to put that right today.”
West Ham remain in the relegation zone under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo, who took charge for his second match after replacing Graham Potter. The Portuguese acknowledged the task ahead: “This week has been a lot of new challenges, a lot of changes. The international break is going to be very useful in terms of settling down.”
