Arsenal’s midfield crisis: Five options to replace Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice

Martin Odegaard, the Arsenal captain, was visibly distraught after suffering an ankle injury on international duty with Norway on Monday night. The playmaker hobbled off the pitch after horribly twisting his ankle in a Nations League match against Austria.

Odegaard was pictured on crutches on Tuesday morning, when he flew back from Norway to London. He will now be assessed further by Arsenal’s medical staff, with fears that he could have suffered ligament damage.

Mikel Arteta will be similarly upset if tests reveal the ankle problem to be as serious as feared. The Arsenal manager already had a significant headache ahead of an enormous week for his side, with key midfielder Declan Rice suspended for Sunday’s north London derby.

The likely loss of Odegaard, alongside the absence of Rice, means that Arteta must now completely reconfigure his midfield ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Depending on the severity of Odegaard’s injury, Arteta will also need to find a new formula for next week’s away games against Atalanta, in the Champions League, and Manchester City.

A measure of Odegaard and Rice’s importance is that they both started 34 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games last season. To make matters worse, Arsenal are also without new signing Mikel Merino, who suffered a serious shoulder injury in his first training session at the club.

Here, Telegraph Sport assesses Arteta’s options as he looks to deal with a midfield crisis that has derailed his early-season plans.

Time for Jorginho?

Jorginho has not played a single minute of competitive action so far this season but that could change this weekend. The 32-year-old is regarded as an important figure at Arsenal for his leadership and experience, and Arsenal may need to lean on those qualities in the high-pressure environment of a north London derby.

The problem for Arsenal is that Jorginho is best at the base of the midfield three, which is where Thomas Partey has been playing this season. Could one of Jorginho or Partey play higher up the pitch, in one of the more advanced roles usually occupied by Rice and Odegaard? It seems unlikely.

To include Jorginho alongside Partey could therefore necessitate a shift towards two holding midfield players, effectively turning Arsenal’s usual 4-3-3 into a 4-2-3-1. This is far from ideal, for two reasons. Firstly, because Arsenal’s other players are so settled in their usual system. Secondly, because Partey and Jorginho have played so little football together.

The two midfielders, who are the oldest outfielders in Arteta’s squad, have started only two competitive matches alongside each other. Both of those games were in May 2023 and on both occasions Partey played as a right-back rather than a central midfielder.

Move Havertz into midfield?

Arsenal’s initial plan for Kai Havertz, following his arrival from Chelsea last year, was to play him as a midfielder, on the left of the central three. It did not work particularly well in the first half of last season, with the German soon proving that he is far better as a striker.

Since changing position, Havertz has been one of the most effective attacking players in Europe. He has started this season in excellent form, scoring two goals and assisting one in three league games so far.

Moving Havertz into a deeper role would limit the German’s game, but might be necessary for the greater good of the team. If he played in midfield, it would allow Gabriel Jesus (if fit) or Leandro Trossard to start in attack.

Repurpose Timber or Zinchenko?

Oleksandr Zinchenko has played many games for Ukraine as a central midfield player and represents an experienced option in Arsenal’s time of need. He has never started in that role for the club, though, with Arteta preferring to deploy him as a left-back who moves into more central positions in possession.

Another full-back who could operate in a deep-lying midfield position is Jurrien Timber. Like Zinchenko, Timber was signed as a defender who could move inside. Could he start the game in that position? Arteta suggested so as recently as last month. “He can play in various positions, his versatility is one of his biggest strengths,” said the Arsenal manager.

Of the two players, Zinchenko would be more suited to a more advanced role, higher up the pitch. The 27-year-old is capable of receiving the ball between the lines and playing incisive forward passes. What he lacks, though, is the physicality and engine of players such as Rice, Havertz and Odegaard.

Sterling, Saka, Trossard: bring a winger inside?

If Arteta does not want to disrupt Havertz’s momentum, then he does have another candidate to play in a No 10 role ahead of two deeper midfielders: Raheem Sterling. The England international has joined from Chelsea to provide competition on the wings but he has experience as a more central attacker, and he will not be daunted by the atmosphere of a London derby.

Bukayo Saka could also operate in a more central position, and has done so occasionally in the past. He is technically and physically strong enough to do the job, although to move him from his usual role would be to remove Arsenal’s greatest attacking threat.

Trossard can play as an attacking midfielder and could even alternate with Havertz during the game. Against Liverpool in February, Arteta deployed a “box midfield” with two holding players and two advanced midfielders. Such a shape could theoretically be recreated with Partey, Jorginho, Havertz and Trossard.

Trust in Nwaneri’s youthful promise?

Perhaps the boldest option is to start Ethan Nwaneri, the 17-year-old prodigy in the Arsenal squad. Nwaneri is a player of huge potential and a rising force, so much so that he effectively forced Fabio Vieira out of the club this summer. Vieira has been loaned to Porto, with Arsenal keen not to block Nwaneri’s path.

On paper, Nwaneri is the obvious understudy to Odegaard and he impressed in that position during Arsenal’s pre-season.

There is an enormous difference, though, between a pre-season friendly and a north London derby. If Odegaard had been injured before a home match against Ipswich Town, then it might have been the perfect opportunity for Nwaneri to come into the side. To choose a trip to Spurs as the time to give him his first competitive start? It would be an enormous show of faith.

Telegraph Sport’s view

A recreation of the formation that defeated Liverpool in February, with a “box midfield” consisting of Trossard, Havertz, Jorginho and Partey seems to have a nice balance to it, without disrupting too much of Arsenal’s attacking flow. It also does not require any player to operate in a totally unfamiliar role. In a north London derby, the players have enough to worry about without fretting about an unusual set of instructions.