Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard faces an absence stretching to at least the November international break after being diagnosed with an MCL issue, according to a new report. The club previously described a persistent shoulder problem before the MCL diagnosis. Arsenal did not give a recovery timeframe, though some experts suggested the lay-off could be as long as two months.

BBC Sport reports Ødegaard will be out until Nov. 23 at the earliest. The same report offers no definitive return date for the 26-year-old and expresses doubt over his involvement in the first north London derby of the season immediately after the international window. That prognosis guarantees he will miss a run of important fixtures over the coming weeks:

Oct. 18 — Premier League, Fulham (A)
Oct. 21 — Champions League, Atlético Madrid (H)
Oct. 26 — Premier League, Crystal Palace (H)
Oct. 29 — EFL Cup, Brighton (H)
Nov. 1 — Premier League, Burnley (A)
Nov. 4 — Champions League, Slavia Praha (A)
Nov. 8 — Premier League, Sunderland (A)

Mikel Arteta’s current league leaders have managed reasonably well despite Ødegaard having featured for less than one-third of available Premier League minutes this season. The club skipper is typically the team’s most prolific creator, though he competes for that distinction with Bukayo Saka. Unlike Ødegaard, Saka is back fit and available.

In limited Premier League time Saka has logged 348 minutes and created six chances from open play, the second-highest total in the Arsenal squad. Right back Jurriën Timber leads that particular metric with seven, a return partly attributable to his availability. Timber has appeared in every league game so far this season, and that consistency has fuelled talk of a new contract.

Set-piece specialist Declan Rice has produced two assists from corner situations this season and is expected to remain a key delivery option. The article also notes summer recruit Eberechi Eze was arguably brought in to contribute in these scenarios.

Real Madrid scouts reportedly attended England U19s fixtures in September and again in the recent international window to assess Arsenal teenager Max Dowman. The visits followed performances that drew attention across Spain and at youth internationals.

According to the Daily Mail, scouts were impressed by Dowman’s display for England U19s against Spain, a match that finished 3–3. The teenager won a penalty in that game after troubling Getafe fullback Davinchi, and he was fouled seven times in the opening 36 minutes with none of the fouls punished by bookings. At one stage the Spanish crowd were even appealing on his behalf.

The Mail also claim that Madrid sent a second group of talent spotters to watch Dowman in England’s 4–1 victory over Belgium on Saturday. Those scouts would have seen only limited minutes, as Dowman was introduced for just over 20 minutes at the end of a match that had already been decided.

Back at club level Mikel Arteta has sought to dampen the growing excitement around the Year 11 student while the club manages his progress. Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva urged supporters to protect the youngster from excessive expectation and to provide the backing he needs.

“Don’t put so much pressure on them,” the retired Brazil international told GIVEMESPORT. “Help them with the pressure, because if you play football it doesn’t matter where you are, you are under pressure. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or a senior player, you are under pressure always to perform when you put the shirt on.

“But the job of the manager, the club, the senior players, is to give those younger talents the support they need to perform and don’t get distracted from what is around them.” Silva added praise for Dowman’s approach this season. “You know what I really like, with these young players, that kind of personality,” the Premier League champion beamed. “It doesn’t matter how young they are, they play with personality. Don’t be scared or afraid of trying things, dribbling, giving a pass, trying something different with their ability.”

Viktor Gyökeres made his Premier League debut for Arsenal at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2025–26 season. What unfolded before that appearance was a bruising transfer dispute that left Sporting CP at odds with the player and his advisers and ultimately delivered the striker to Arsenal rather than Manchester United.

Arsenal agreed a deal worth an initial €63.5 million (£55.3 million, $73.7 million) with a further €10 million available in performance-related add-ons. That completion followed weeks of rancour in which accusations of blackmail, betrayal and a playing strike were levelled as talks ground on.

Gyökeres and his team believed they had already agreed a fee Sporting would accept before the window opened. Sporting, meanwhile, were navigating a recruitment transition after their sporting director Hugo Viana joined Manchester City, and club president Frederico Varandas publicly declared that no such gentleman’s agreement existed.

One of Gyökeres’s representatives, Jonathan Chalkias, recently revealed that Sporting were so insistent on controlling their striker’s next destination that they “concluded a deal with Manchester United behind our backs.” Chalkias added that the team coached by Ruben Amorim, Gyökeres’s former Sporting boss, “offered a higher transfer fee.”

Fabrizio Romano supported the claim that negotiations between United and Sporting were “closed,” revealing that while the fallen Premier League giants were offering a lower fixed fee than the €63.5 million which Arsenal paid, they had agreed upon “better bonuses.” Romano also says the reigning Portuguese champions were “pushing like crazy” to send their No. 9 to Old Trafford.

Faced with competing offers and public disagreement at club level, Gyökeres and his camp resisted Sporting’s preferred destination and the midfielder eventually moved to Arsenal. The closing of the Arsenal agreement ended a draining saga that had played out publicly and privately across the summer window.