Mikel Arteta gives worrying injury updates on four Arsenal stars including Martin Odegaard

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Martin Odegaard will need to be assessed after the Arsenal skipper appeared to suffer an ankle injury during last night's win over Aston Villa.

The club captain has been a hugely influential figure over the course of Arsenal's flawless start to the new season which has seen Arteta's side climb the Premier League summit on the back of five successive wins.

Odegaard was at the heart of his side's best football again last night but failed to see out the 90 minutes following a John McGinn tackle that was described as 'harsh' by Arteta.

The Norway international was seen holding an ice pack to his ankle while he saw out the remainder of the match from the substitutes' bench but was at least well enough to reenter the pitch to take part in the post match celebrations that followed Gabriel Martinelli's winner.

Asked for an update on his skipper afterwards, Arteta said: 'Yeah, he got a bad kick as you could see and he was struggling.

'He was in pain. Let's assess him, but he had a little bit of pain on his leg because of that harsh challenge.'

There was also concern for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale who went down during the closing stages clutching his hamstring but managed to complete the match.

'I think he felt something, I don't know what exactly. He managed to finish the game but he's another we'll have to assess,' Arteta added.

There was less promising news, however, with regards to the fitness of midfield duo Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, both of whom were absent last night and appear set for extended spells on the sidelines.

'That's not good news, we still need him to see our specialist but I'm afraid we're going to lose Mo for a while,' said Arteta when asked for an update on the Egypt international.

'(Partey) He's going to be out for a while but we don't know how long that period is going to be.

'Obviously, it's not the first injury that he's had in that area so it is a recurring injury, so it's one for the doctors to put a timeline on it and see how he goes.'

Arsenal appear to be drastically short of midfield options and the spate of injuries will force the club change their plans ahead of what promises to be a frantic transfer deadline day.

'We were pretty protected in that position and now we are more exposed, but we have to be more prepared for uncertainties,' said Arteta.

'Injuries, suspensions and things like that can happen, especially this season which will be really strange with the World Cup. We'll try to prevent things but sometimes it's not easy.

'Obviously, it has an impact because Thomas [Partey] is injured and we are a bit short in that position. We have Sambi and Granit can play there but we are looking at options in the market.

'The club has been super supportive to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it, we will try.'