Arsenal, however, may be able to field Odegaard and Zinchenko, who were absent in the last match in the North London Derby
By Kehinde Okeowo
Arsenal have a number of injury worries to battle as they make a return to Premier League action from the international break.
The Gunners will clash with their rivals, Tottenham Hotspurs on Saturday, October 1, 2022, in yet another mouth-watering north London derby.
Mike Arteta would have loved to go into such a momentous occasion with a full squad to choose from, but it looking increasingly unlikely.
The derby could leave the Spaniard sweating on the fitness of some players on international duties and others that were unavailable against Brentford the game before the break.
While there may be a return or two on the cards, by there seem to be a few precautionary issues for the medical team at London Colney to deal with first.
Kieran Tierney is an injury concern for Arsenal heading into the derby after the left-back was subbed off as a precaution with a head injury while playing for Scotland in Saturday’s UEFA Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland
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Since then, the club have released a statement confirming that Tierney has returned from the break early, with no indication of when he may return to action.
Midfielder Thomas Partey who picked up a thigh injury earlier this season was also due to start in his nation’s friendly with Brazil, but had to pull out of the line-up.
Like Tierney, Partey has had to return to the club early from the international break due to a knee problem, also with no indication on whether he will be available for the north London derby.
However, according to football.london, the club captain Odegaard is expected to be fully fit for the clash with Tottenham at the weekend.
The Norway international had picked up a knock in training, missing the game with Brentford just before the break for international duty.
Despite that issue, the playmaker was still called up for the run of fixtures for his nation, with the manager claiming he will be involved in some capacity. Odegaard was then given a start against Slovenia, meaning he should be available for the north London derby.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is also set to return for the north London derby at the weekend.
The Ukraine international was another doubt, having not been called up for his nation due to a calf issue in an official statement, but he appears to have shaken off any concerns to be available for the game.
There is no indication yet from the Japanese FA that Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu has suffered another fitness problem, however, he has also made an early return to Arsenal for what has been described as “club circumstances”.
The full statement from the Japanese FA reads: “We would like to inform you that defender TOMIYASU Takehiro (Arsenal) will be withdrawing from the SAMURAI BLUE ahead of the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2022 Ecuador National Team match on September 27th due to club circumstances.”