Latest Arsenal injury news with Martin Odegaard update amid Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice concern

Arsenal will be hoping that several fitness concerns begin to ease over the course of the November international break.

Mikel Arteta has been forced to deal with several injury concerns across the first 11 matches of the Premier League season, as well as for games in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League to see the gap between themselves in fourth and leaders Liverpool extend to nine points after the Merseyside outfit beat Aston Villa 24 hours earlier.

Arsenal welcomed the return of Martin Odegaard to the starting line-up for the draw with Chelsea, with the midfielder missing 12 matches with an ankle injury he suffered with Norway back in September.

Odegaard had made a late cameo appearance against Inter Milan in the Champions League a few days earlier, but played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea in what was his first start since August.

It was confirmed on Tuesday, though, that Odegaard would not be travelling with the Norway squad over the next fortnight as he continues building up his fitness after only recently returning from the ankle injury.

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"I've been through a long training period and when you haven't practised football in the last nine weeks, it's natural not to be 100 percent yet," Odegaard told the Norwegian FA.

"I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process and get my foot back in good shape. The hope has always been to be able to play the national matches, and if I hadn't played the match [versus Chelsea] on Sunday, it would have been out of the question to participate anyway."

It was also confirmed this week that Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice had been withdrawn from the England squad for the Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland this month. Saka and Rice were both substituted with fitness concerns during the draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

Saka suffered a potential leg injury in the second half, while Rice was unable to continue after playing through the pain with a broken toe. Arteta expressed his concern for the duo after the draw at Stamford Bridge.

"It doesn’t look good, because for two players of that importance to tell you they cannot continue in the game, it’s not good news," Arteta told reporters on Sunday about the injuries to Saka and Rice. I don’t know whether to expect them to be fit [for England] because if not they don’t come off.

"What I'm praying for is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped, that they are available and that they are fit, because it's been a nightmare for eight weeks."

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney all missed the draw with Chelsea with their respective injuries. It remains to be seen if any of the trio will be fit to return to action for the clash against Nottingham Forest on November 23 after the international break.

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