Martin Odegaard has been unable to put his injury troubles behind him during a stop-start season.
The Arsenal captain has been sidelined on five separate occasions in 2025/26, suffering a string of problems including knee, muscle and shoulder issues.
Is Martin Odegaard available for Arsenal against Bournemouth?
The 27-year-old made his first appearance for more than a month in Arsenal’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Southampton last Saturday.
But his 70th-minute withdrawal in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory over Sporting Lisbon set alarm bills ringing for Gunners fans, who are now sweating over their skipper’s availability for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
BBC Sport’s Alex Howell reported at the time that Odegaard was walking with “a bit of a limp” as he left the field, but Arteta played it down when he was asked about his captain after game.
The Spaniard said that the substitution was “partly tactical” and “precautionary”, due to the midfielder’s recent injury problems, suggesting that there was no new fitness issue.
Odegaard started two matches in the space of 72 hours this week, in his first appearances since February, so Arteta will have been wary of overworking the Norwegian.
On that basis, it seems unlikely that he hands him a third successive start, given that Arsenal are in the middle of a run of five games in 16 days across three competitions.
After hosting Bournemouth on Saturday, the Gunners welcome Sporting to the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday for their quarter-final second leg, with Arteta’s side holding a 1-0 lead.
They then visit Manchester City a week on Sunday for a game that could decide the Premier League title race.
Arsenal are nine points ahead of Pep Guardiola‘s side, albeit having played a game more, and a victory at the Etihad Stadium would leave them all-but certain of a first league title since 2004.
They are also still in the hunt for a maiden Champions League crown.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(471x244:473x246)/CNN-New-Years-Eve-with-Anderson-Cooper-123124-9952e5f00fc1425f87113ba2bfb97b29.jpg "Anderson Cooper Says He Once ‘Hated’ New Year’s Eve While Co-Hosting CNN Broadcast")
