Arsenal’s Norwegian north star Martin Ødegaard is set to miss out on the Premier League clash against rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers after failing to recover on time from an injury that the club hope will not keep him out for a number of games.
The midfielder is suffering from an muscle injury and Mikel Arteta has had to do without the player on multiple occasions across the season as Arsenal fight to maintain their lead at the top of English football’s premier division.
“For Wolves [Odegaard] is not going to be fit,” Mikel Arteta admitted in the days leading up to the game, “but for Sunday we are very hopeful that he can be with us.”
At the weekend, Arsenal have a huge Premier League clash against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who will debut with their new manager, Igor Tudor.
“Kai is the other one,” Arteta revealed of Havertz, “but again for the weekend he’s a possibility, so we are looking forward to having him in the squad.”
Why are Arsenal and Wolves playing in the Premier League today?
Arsenal’s progression in the League Cup means that their game against Wolves was required to be moved to today. The match had initially been scheduled for Saturday 21 March, but as Arsenal are set to play against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, their upcoming game has had to be moved to a week when both sides are available.
The Gunners are creeping towards a long-awaited Premier League title and are 4 points clear of Manchester City, who sit in second place after 26 match days. A win will take them 7 points clear of their title-chasing rivals, although they will be a game out of hand.
Wolves, on the other hand, sit in 20th place in the division and even the most optimistic fans know that they are very likely to be playing Championship football next season. Sitting 18 points adrift of safety with 12 games remaining, any chance of survival looks impossible.
Arsenal take on Wolves in the Premier League at Molineux today, Wednesday 18 October at 3pm ET.