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There might not be any respite for Martin Odegaard over the November international break as the Arsenal captain has been called up to the Norway squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Odegaard has only just returned from a lengthy injury layoff having suffered an ankle injury during the September break, with the masterful playmaker recording a delightful assist for Gabriel Martinelli on his first Premier League start in almost eight weeks in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners' stuttering form while Odegaard was sidelined combined with his performance at Stamford Bridge manifested his significance to Mikel Arteta's side, and the Spaniard would undoubtedly want Odegaard to remain safe and sound at London Colney over the next couple of weeks.
However, after initially leaving him out, Stale Solbakken has since included his captain in the squad for Norway's final two 2024/25 Nations League fixtures.
Martin Odegaard called up to Norway squad for November fixtues
Odegaard has flown to Oslo to join his teammates and, according to the Standard, a decision will be made over the coming days in regards to the role he'll play during the break.
Norway face Slovenia on Thursday before taking on Kazakhstan at home on Sunday. Solbakken's side are currently locked in a three-way tie at the top of Group B3 alongside Slovenia and Austria, with the winner of the group automatically progressing up to League A for the 2026/27 iteration of the competition.
With Odegaard completing the entirety of Sunday's game in west London, Solbakken is well within his rights to call his captain up for two crucial fixtures. "He called me,” said the Norway coach. “We discussed the situation openly and honestly.
“He didn’t have much more information than what had come to light and what Martin had said to both the medical team at Arsenal and to us.
“This will be a decision that will hopefully be made within a couple of days between the medical team and Martin. He is the one who must feel 100 per cent ready for this," he added.
Selfishly, we'll all be hoping that Solbakken and Norway take a cautious stance over Odegaard given his recent return to action, but they don't exactly owe Arsenal anything. They don't care about our already faltering title charge, that's for sure.
These are two big games for the manager, and if Odegaard is happy to feature, we've got to assume that he's going to play at least some part over the next week.