ODEGAARD LEFT FEELING LIKE A BIG GRUMP AFTER INJURY Gunners captain frustrated as gammy knee forces him onto sidelines
ARSENAL captain Martin Odegaard has been left “very frustrated and grumpy” by his latest injury setback, according to Norway boss Stale Solbakken.
A knee problem has seen midfielder Odegaard sidelined since the win over Tottenham on February 22, forcing him to miss both the Champions League round-of-16 win over Bayer Leverkusen and Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta stressed in the run-up to Wembley that the club would not take any risks with rushing Odegaard back too soon as he looked to step up his rehabilitation.
Odegaard also missed the World Cup qualifiers during October and November which included a 4-1 away win over Italy as Norway secured top spot in Group I with a perfect record from their eight fixtures.
Solbakken will again be without Odegaard for the friendlies against the Netherlands and Switzerland.
“He is very frustrated and grumpy. He has not been involved since we beat Moldova 11-1 [in September]. It is his last international match,” Solbakken told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.
“He was not on the field against Israel, Estonia or Italy. It is clear that it hurts.”
Solbakken ruled out the possibility of Norway captain
Odegaard heading out to join the camp in Amsterdam or for next week’s game against Switzerland in Olso.
“Now it is three weeks until Arsenal play again, or two-anda-half weeks. I think it could be a goal for Martin to be in a squad [for his club] then. It is within reach,” Solbakken said.
“There is no reason for him to travel now. He has to train [with Arsenal].
“If he wants to use a day off to come here, he is welcome to do so, but it is not something that has been planned.”
Arsenal will look to regroup after the international break, following a lacklustre display in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by City, especially in the second half when Nico O’Reilly scored twice in the space of four minutes to take the game away from Arteta’s side.
The Gunners — who sit nine points clear of City at the top of the Premier League, having played a match more — head to Southampton in the last eight of the FA Cup on April 4 before the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final away to Sporting Lisbon three days later.
Defenders Gabriel (knee), William Saliba (ankle) and Jurrien Timber (ankle) all pulled out of international duty, as did England midfielder Eberechi Eze, who has a calf problem, while forward Leandro Trossard
was not called up by Belgium as he manages a hip issue.
Riccardo Calafiori hopes to be fit to feature for Italy in their play-off against Northern Ireland after Azzurri boss Gennaro Gattuso said he “felt a little discomfort” following Sunday’s game.
“I am fine,” the Arsenal defender told a press conference on Tuesday. “We will see how it goes on the pitch today, but I am fine.”