23/09/2025
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Noni Madueke will be sidelined for a while after sustaining a knee injury in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City last Sunday. The exact timeline wonβt be known until the winger undergoes a further scan on his injured knee, but rumour has it that he could be out for up to eight weeks.
Ahead of Wednesdayβs League Cup clash with Port Vale, Arteta said: βIt looks heβs going to be out for a few weeks. We donβt know yet, weβre probably going to have to scan him next week again. He felt something at the beginning of the match, he tried to carry on and at half-time he was too sore, so letβs see.
βWe need to scan him again to see the real extent of the injury, but it doesnβt look too bad.
βHe was gutted, obviously. Very disappointing to see because he was in such a good state. He looked like a real threat; he was getting some consistency, some flow into the team and he looked like a real threat, so itβs a big miss for us.β
Madueke joins Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Piero Hincapie on the injury list. On a positive note, Bukayo Saka has returned to the side after a month out with a hamstring ni**le.
On Havertz, the Arsenal manager admitted it was hard to provide an exact timeframe, but noted: βWith Kai, we know that it will be months with him. I donβt know if it can be weeks, you never know because this is Kai and heβs a different specimen. (Laughs)
βWe really miss him. Hopefully, he will be back, and back for the long term as well, so it is very important to look after that knee. So far, heβs progressing pretty well.β
Captain Martin Odegaard, who hurt his shoulder twice in two weeks, is set to miss Wednesdayβs trip up north, though the boss says he has done some training and could be in contention for Sundayβs clash at Newcastle.
Pierro Hincapie, who made his debut in stoppage time against Athletic Club last week, has since aggravated a groin injury. While the issue isnβt serious, he wonβt be available at Vale Park tomorrow.
βWeβll have to assess him again in the next few days to see how he goes,β said Arteta of the Ecuador international.
βThereβs been a change of load, and he didnβt really have a pre-season after the surgery that he had. Weβll have to see in the next week or so how he is.β
Asked about the recurring injuries to key players, Arteta stressed that his staff are working hard to manage workloads but admitted that βbad luckβ has played a part.
βWe looked at everything. The one with Noni, it is bad luck, itβs a very unfortunate incident. With Kai, something similar. With Ben White, it was similar. With Martin, all the guys have been out, very similar, because he damaged his shoulder twice during the same action on the floor, which is very unlikely to happen.
βWith Bukayo, it was more of a muscular injury with the hamstring, maybe something to look more in depth and we absolutely did that. We try to keep that as low as possible, thatβs what we are trying to do.β
On whether Saka needs to get back up to speed after his spell on the sidelines, Arteta said: βYeah, he needs minutes and heβs demanding that as well. Obviously, when heβs been out for a while, you just need to get in the rhythm, you need to get that confidence on the pitch and repeat actions and exposure.
βAnd we will do that, obviously, gradually because heβs been out for a while. But I like what I saw the other day when he came on.β
