Gameweek 10 is over and it was quite eventful one. Let's take a look at the reason why Gabriel and Odegaard were benched and updates on Neto's injury.
Pedro Neto fell to the ground in the 75th minute of the two-all draw against Newcastle United, where he received medical treatment and was later taken off on a stretcher. The injury, which was to his hamstring, and the way he had to leave the field may have caused concerns about a long absence. However, Gary O’Neil, the Wolves’ manager, remained somewhat optimistic after the game.
“He felt his hamstring and he’s moving around a little bit in there. As we all know, there are different levels of hamstring [injury] and we won’t know the severity of it until the next few days. We’re all hopeful that we don’t miss him for very long.” – Gary O’Neil on Pedro Neto
Before his substitution, the Portuguese midfielder had added another assist to his tally, marking his eighth of the 2023/24 season. This assist came in the 36th minute when he delivered a corner, and Mario Lemina headed it into the net. Neto had been a constant threat on the counter-attack, and he was moments away from taking a shot on goal when his hamstring suddenly gave way. As a result, there may have been a missed opportunity for a significant haul at Molineux.
The duo of Martin Odegaard (8.5m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (4.8m) were left on the sidelines during Arsenal’s victory over Sheffield United, missing out on the opportunity to contribute points both defensively and offensively. Odegaard’s recent performances have been subpar, and Mikel Arteta mentioned that a fitness issue was the primary reason for his absence from the starting lineup.
“Martin has been carrying a little thing that wasn’t very comfortable in the games. We have players with enormous quality and we have to trust them. We believe it was the right day to do so.” – Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard’s benching
Gabriel’s benching was a significant disappointment for his owners. This was especially frustrating because he had been in good form recently, and the absence of his competition, Thomas Partey (4.8m), who had temporarily played as a right-back earlier in the season, was out to injury. Looking at their playing time over the last three weeks (from Gameweek 8 onwards), both Gabriel and Odegaard had played more minutes for their club and national teams than anyone else before Saturday. In fact, Gabriel had started the previous 14 games for both club and country without a break, dating back to early September.
The decision to bench them in the most recent game might have been a move to conserve their energy for tougher week ahead. The lineup for next week’s match against Newcastle will likely provide more clarity on this matter. Even if Gabriel does return to the starting lineup at that point, his upcoming involvement with the Brazilian national team during the international break could lead to another rest in the medium term.
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