Captain seen limping after picking up knee knock during the 1-1 draw at Brentford as Arteta faces selection headaches with multiple absences
Arsenal‘s title hopes suffered a double blow Thursday evening as they dropped two crucial points against Brentford while also losing captain Martin Ødegaard to another injury concern.
The midfielder was spotted limping through the mixed zone following the 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium, raising fears about yet another absence for a player who’s already endured four separate injuries this season.
Ødegaard took a painful knock to his knee during the second half while attempting to prevent Brentford’s equaliser. He stretched out a leg trying to block Keane Lewis-Potter from reaching the ball but caught the worst of the collision, requiring several minutes of treatment on the pitch before continuing.
Journalist Ryan Taylor reported seeing Ødegaard limping afterwards, suggesting the knock was more serious than initially apparent during the game itself.
Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Wigan Athletic appears unlikely for the captain, while his availability for the crucial north London derby against Tottenham on February 22 has also been thrown into doubt.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Arsenal. Manchester City emerged as the big winners from Thursday’s draw, with the dropped points allowing their title rivals to maintain or extend their advantage at the top of the Premier League table.
Noni Madueke‘s header gave Arsenal the lead before Lewis-Potter‘s equaliser secured Brentford a share of the spoils.
Ødegaard’s latest setback marks his fifth injury of a catastrophically disrupted 2025/26 campaign. That leaves Eberechi Eze as Arsenal’s only genuine option in the number 10 role, a concerning reality given his struggles adapting to his new club since arriving as one of the summer’s marquee signings.
His performance against Brentford exemplified those difficulties, with Arteta hooking him at halftime after a mediocre 45 minutes.
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Eze struggles highlight adaptation challenges
The former Crystal Palace midfielder managed just 17 touches during the opening half, completing only nine of his 11 attempted passes with just one coming inside the opposition box.
Those statistics reveal a player yet to find his rhythm within Arsenal’s system, creating problems for Arteta when injuries force him to rely heavily on the 27-year-old.
Asked about Eze’s performance, Arteta acknowledged the natural challenges facing any player joining a new club, particularly creative attackers asked to perform in difficult tactical environments.
“Well, I think he had moments and it’s not easy when you move to a new club,” Arteta explained. “It’s always like this, and when you play against a team that is like this and the ball is a lot of times not on the floor and you have to be constantly breaking the play and do that, especially for attacking and creative players, it’s more difficult.”
Meanwhile, the decision to loan Ethan Nwaneri to Marseille in January made sense at the time, but with injuries mounting across the midfield, that decision now looks more questionable in hindsight.
Nwaneri’s absence removes a potential emergency option, forcing Arteta to lean more heavily on Eze regardless of his current form or fitness.
When is Arsenal vs Wigan in the FA Cup?
Arsenal welcome Wigan to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, February 15, in the FA Cup fourth round, with kick-off set for 16:30 GMT (17:30 CET, 11:30 ET, and 08:30 PT).
In the United Kingdom, the match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, with streaming available via discovery+ for subscribers. It is not among the BBC’s free-to-air selections for this round.
In the United States, FA Cup coverage remains available through ESPN+, which holds domestic streaming rights to the competition.