Jorginho identifies 'talented' Arsenal star who could fill Martin Odegaard void

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is set for an extended spell on the sidelines but Jorginho believes a young academy star can successfully take his place in the Gunners' line-up

Jorginho has picked out academy star Ethan Nwaneri as a potential replacement for Martin Odegaard.

Odegaard suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with Norway and is set for an extended period on the sidelines. In his place Kai Havertz started in the No.10 role for the North London Derby win over Tottenham on Sunday.

Jorginho meanwhile took over the captain's armband with the Gunners' regular skipper sidelined. It was a successful start to life without Odegaard as Mikel Arteta's men claimed a 1-0 win thanks to Gabriel's header.

Now they face Atalanta in the Champions League, with Jorginho keen to see Nwaneri handed a chance to impress. The youngster played the final four minutes of the win over Spurs, with Jorginho left impressed with his performance.

“He’s a young lad who is growing a lot and is improving every single day. A talented player with good skills who can dribble, break lines, find the goal and find the pass," Jorginho said.

"I think he can have a good future in front of him if he stays the way he’s been training and tries to improve every day. Like every single young kid, they’re quiet at the moment but over time he’s going to get experience and come out of his shell.

"It’s just about timing. The only thing to focus on is improving every single day and I’m sure that he can. We’ve been trying to improve every day and we need to take the lessons that we got last season.

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Image: Stuart MacFarlane) Stuart MacFarlane)

“The hunger to win, sticking together, trying to help each other and all the work that we put together behind the scenes from the staff helps players on the pitch. That’s the key. The spirit of this group, the energy, the atmosphere in the changing room and training ground is absolutely incredible."

Boss Arteta has admitted that losing Odegaard has been a major blow to his side's ambitions. But he is confident that other members of the squad will step up to fill his skipper's boots.

"After everything was scanned, they showed that there was some damage, especially in one of the ligaments in the ankle so we’re going to miss him. I don’t want to [put a timeframe on it] because I am not a doctor," he said.

"But it is something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while – hopefully not months but let’s see. He’s our captain - he’s one of our biggest players. He’s been one of the most consistent players in the last two or three seasons.

"Our identity is very related to his way of playing and his way of behaving. We’re going to have to deal with [his absence] and that’s a great test for the team as well - how capable we are to show maybe a different face. The fact [is] we have other players and other options that can be very effective."

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