Young Arsenal midfielder with 'excellent technical ability' travels to Atalanta in wake of Martin Odegaard injury blow

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Arsenal are gearing up their Champions League opener against Atalanta, which takes place on Thursday in wake of the competition’s rebranding.

However, Arsenal will have to do so without captain Martin Odegaard, who is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Odegaard suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with Norway earlier this month and went on to miss the North London derby win.

And on Wednesday night, Mikel Arteta told reporters at his pre-Atalanta press conference that Odegaard has sustained ligament damage.

Arteta now has some thinking to do in terms of who will replace Odegaard in the XI, and this will have a knock-on effect further down the squad.

Now, photos taken by Arsenal club photographer Stuart MacFarlane show that the Gunners boss has included a talented academy midfielder in his travelling pack.

Salah Oulad M’hand part of Arsenal travelling pack for Atalanta game

The player in question is Salah Oulad M’hand, who has been going from strength to strength in the Arsenal academy.

The 21-year-old is in and around the Gunners’ first-team squad, being named in the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Salah has also featured in the EFL Trophy for Arsenal’s Under-21s this season, and last year he was on loan at Dutch club Den Bosch.

Arsenal’s official website says Salah is a ‘creative midfielder capable of producing moments of magic’.

Meanwhile, Gunners youth team expert Jeorge Bird says the ‘talented’ player is ‘capable of performing effectively as an attacking midfielder or out wide and possesses excellent technical ability.’

In the past, the former Netherlands youth international was compared to the likes of Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Philippe Coutinho, Deco and Samir Nasri.

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Who could start in Arsenal midfield at Atalanta?

Arsenal have Declan Rice back, and he’s likely to go back into the starting XI after his suspension for the North London derby. Jorginho is also likely to start once again for the Gunners.

Thomas Partey may feature from the off, but there’s a good chance he could be rested ahead of the Manchester City match. Kai Havertz could potentially drop down into midfield.

When and where will Arsenal play Atalanta?

Atalanta v Arsenal is scheduled to kick off at 8pm BST at Bergamo’s Gewiss Stadium on Thursday 19 September 2024.