Martin Odegaard will not be ready to face Newcastle this weekend but Mikel Arteta has not ruled the Arsenal captain out of next week’s UEFA Champions League showdown with Inter Milan.

Odegaard has been sidelined since suffering ankle ligament damage during Norway’s UEFA Nations League win over Austria in September.

The Gunners are seeking to get back to winning ways after one point from their past two Premier League games and face a Newcastle side that beat them in controversial circumstances in the same fixture last season.

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It’s a game that comes too soon for Odegaard but, speaking at his pre-match news conference, Arteta said the playmaker could return against Inter and praised his diligent recovery work — efforts that he believes will mean a return at full speed.

“Now is the stage when he will do certain work with us, Let’s see how he deals with pain, if he moves naturally enough if he is physically now at the level that requires him to compete,” he said. 

“But with the work rate and the hours he’s put in, I would be surprised that the moment he starts training with us, we don’t say that he looks ready. So hopefully soon.”

Odegaard and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori will definitely miss the trip to St James’ Park, although Gabriel and Ben White could both feature.

“We have a training session today. If [Gabriel] can complete that, he’ll be available,” Arteta said.

“He hasn’t had any training sessions yet, but if he’s able to do that today, he’ll be available to be in the squad.

“With Ben, we don’t know yet. He hasn’t trained yet. He could not train, he could not get involved, so let’s wait and see if he’s available.

“This is related more to a joint [rather than muscular].”