With Odegaard injured, will Arteta turn to a 17-year-old wonderkid?

Arsenal have had an excruciating international break.

Heading into the interval with a feeling that Man City had already stolen a march after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Brighton, the Gunners were looking to regroup and recuperate.

An injured Martin Odegaard, a freak Riccardo Calafiori calf knock, and a training ground bust-up later, and Mikel Arteta will be left wondering whether he couldn't have just made an excuse to keep his boys wrapped up in north London.

For that's where they'll remain this weekend for the side's shortest away trip in the calendar - a face-off with bitter rivals Tottenham in a hotly-anticipated derby. 

Ahead of the ill-timed crunch match, Mail Sport delves into the teamsheet gymnastics Arteta might have to perform to get 11 players out on the field on Sunday - and why it might involve a 17-year-old wonderkid.

Losing a talismanic captain is a setback at the best of times but losing him ahead of a derby, a Champions League tie, and a trip to Man City is an unmitigated disaster.

Odegaard suffered a worrying ankle injury during Norway's Nations League match against Austria which saw him helped off the pitch by two members of the backroom staff.

The midfielder was challenged for the ball and his ankle twisted on the pitch in toe-curlingly awkward fashion, the 25-year-old immediately realising his game was over.

How long the Norwegian will be out for remains to be seen but he looks likely to be absent for the gruelling run of matches which complete the month of September.

Odegaard joins a ballooning Arsenal absentee list which, if you include suspensions, now consists of seven first-team stars, meaning they now have the smallest squad in the Premier League with just 22 players.

The crisis started as far back as the Euros, whereKieran Tierney keeled over on the pitch with a hamstring injury in Scotland's draw with Switzerland.

Around the same time, the Gunners' full-back options shrunk further as Takehiro Tomiyasu suffered a knee strain which ruled him out of pre-season. The Japanese defender's recovery has been slower than expected and he remains on the sidelines.

Fully-paid member of the Emirates treatment room, Gabriel Jesus, was the next to go, the Brazilian striker suffering another frustrating setback in between the side's opening weekend win over Wolves and their second match against Aston Villa. 

And after waiting the bulk of the summer to sign midfielder Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, the Spaniard then picked up a knock in his very first Arsenal session. Plus ca change.

This was all before an international break which saw Odegaard hobble off in Oslo and new recruit Calafiori getting injured in a freak incident.

The Italian left-back tackled France's Ousmane Dembele only to have the winger fall heavily onto him, leaving the 22-year-old with his head in his hands.

Add in Declan Rice's suspension after two yellow cards against Brighton, and an unsettled Jurrien Timber following a training ground scrap with Dutch teammate Wout Weghorst, and Arteta is left scratching around for stand-ins.

It all opens the door for Ethan Nwaneri - a 17-year-old attacking midfielder many Arsenal fans have been crying out for.

The talent impressed in pre-season, starting in matches against Bournemouth and Man United and coming on in several other friendlies.

Nwaneri scored ten goals in 13 matches in the Premier League 2 last season and six in just two games in the FA Youth Cup, and Gunners supporters have been taking to X, formerly Twitter, to express their excitement at the possibility of a starting berth for the English youngster.

Some are predicting a performance similar to that of Cesc Fabregas in the north London derby in October 2009, where the Spaniard ran half the length of the pitch for Arsenal's second goal.

Others are expecting a display reminiscent of Jack Wilshere's against Barcelona in 2011 when he dominated a midfield boasting Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

Not wanting to spoil the party, but it seems unlikely that Arteta will throw such a valuable future star into the cauldron of an away match against Spurs. Nwaneri's chance will come but a run-out on Sunday would be unduly bold.

Taking it back a step, the replacement for the dependable Rice is easier to predict. The experienced Jorginho will likely slot in at number six.

As if to rub his manager's face in it a tad, the Englishman produced a thumping strike to give his national team the lead in a fierce Nations League match against Ireland, where he was the subject of relentless boos thanks to his previous international appearances for the side in green.

Returning to Odegaard's replacement, might Arteta take the opportunity to build a more defensive midfield specially tailored to nullify an aggressive Spurs side?

Ange Postecoglou instills a gung-ho approach among his charges and boasts a wealth of attacking talent including Heung-Min Son, James Maddison and, now, Dominic Solanke. 

But Arteta's options to stem a free-flowing Spurs are limited. Timber might have slotted into midfield but he is too valuable at left-back. Calafiori, a shrewd ball-player, would be an interesting experiment but he, of course, is injured.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zinchenko might have once been considered, playing a good deal of his 33 games in the 2022-23 campaign in that position, but the Ukrainian has fallen out of favour at the Emirates.

This leaves the most attacking, and most likely, ploy: shift centre-forward Kai Havertz into midfield, where he played many of his matches at Chelsea, and let loose a front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. 

Arteta, a dedicated follower of the modern school of thought which obsesses over 'duels', values the German's ability to win such battles all over the pitch.

Provided Saka tracks back to help a slightly diminished defence, then this reshuffled Gunners side might offer a wealth of attacking flair while not leaking too many chances at the hands of their fierce rivals.

Either way, with four attackers on the pitch at once, and the potential for a fired-up Nwaneri to make his derby bow, Arsenal's loss is the neutral's gain.