By Katie Catherall
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted club captain Martin Odegaard had to be withdrawn from Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa through injury.
The midfield star was taken off the pitch and replaced by Emile Smith Rowe in the 79th minute, with the score still at 0-0. It was the first time since October 2023 that Arteta has withdrawn his captain while the team were not winning.
Arteta was asked for his reasoning behind removing the midfielder from the game, and he provided a worrying update to the media.
"He was feeling something," Arteta said of Odegaard. "He could not continue."
The Gunners boss refused to go into further detail on the matter, with no clarity over whether he will be available for Arsenal's highly-anticipated clash with Bayern in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arteta's squad are set to head to Germany for the second leg with everything to play for, having drawn 2-2 with the Bundesliga side at the Emirates previously.
The Spanish coach affirmed after the first leg that his side would be committed to putting in a better performance in Germany, after poor defensive issues allowed Thomas Tuchel's team to slide two goals into the back of the net.
Odegaard and his teammates may be even more determined to succeed on Wednesday after a dissapointing loss against Villa saw Manchester City rise above them in the league. The Gunners now sit two points behind City and level on points with Liverpool, who also fell to a surprise loss at the hands of Crystal Palace.
READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Mikel Arteta confirms major Arsenal injury scare ahead of Bayern Munich second leg.
