Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard emerges as doubt for Bayern Munich clash

Odegaard made his 29th Premier League start of the season in Sunday's meeting with an Aston Villa side managed by former Arsenal boss Unai Emery.

He was arguably Arsenal's best player on the pitch before he was replaced by Emile Smith Rowe in the 79th minute.

The score was still goalless when Odegaard made way, but Arsenal went on to concede two late goals to lose a Premier League game for the first time in 2024.

Leon Bailey tapped home to break the deadlock in the 84th minute, before Ollie Watkins quickly doubled the advantage to condemn the Gunners to their fifth league defeat of the season.

As a result of the loss, Arsenal are sitting in second place and two points adrift of leaders Manchester City with six matches left to play.

The decision to withdraw Odegaard may have raised a few eyebrows, but Mikel Arteta has revealed that the midfielder picked up an injury issue during the game.

When asked about the substitution, the Arsenal boss told reporters: «He was feeling something. He could not continue.»

The Gunners will now have to assess the extent of Odegaard's injury ahead of Wednesday's trip to the Allianz Arena.

Arteta will be desperate to have Odegaard available for the crucial Champions League game against Bayern, with the tie finely poised at 2-2 following Tuesday's first leg at the Emirates.

Odegaard has been available for the majority of the 2023-24 campaign, having missed just three competitive matches due to injury.

The Arsenal skipper has appeared in seven of Arsenal's eight Champions League matches,