Norway boss hints he could change Martin Odegaard call-up decision

Norway boss Stale Solbakken says Martin Odegaard could still link up with their squad for the November international break despite not being named in it.

Norway announced their squad for the November internationals earlier this week, leaving out Martin Odegaard.

Though that seemingly put the matter to rest, manager Stale Solbakken has since reopened the case by suggesting the Arsenal captain could still be involved.

“We follow the situation day by day,” Solbakken said. “As of now, Martin is not 100 percent ready to play, but we are in daily contact with both him and Arsenal. Then a decision will be made on that after the weekend.”

Solbakken went on to dismiss the possibility that Arsenal might prefer to rest their star midfielder over the break.

“We can’t start with those theories now,” Solbakken said. “We are in contact with Arsenal every single day. Both we and Arsenal are interested in him recovering.”

Hopes were raised of a possible return to action for the player this week, after he returned to full training with Arsenal and travelled to Italy with the squad for the Inter Milan clash.

Mikel Arteta suggested he’ll be cautious with Odegaard after his injury, but he added that it’s at least a possibility he’ll be involved on the pitch this week.

“The positive news is it’s great to have Martin back,” Arteta said. “Obviously he’s trained with us for the first time, a full session today.

“He felt good, it’s a bit earlier than we expected, but he wanted to be with the team, so we’ll decide tomorrow whether we use him, but at least it’s a big step that he’s travelled with us and is part of the team.”

With huge games away to Inter Milan and Chelsea coming up, Arsenal fans will certainly hope to see their captain back in action.