Martin Odegaard left ‘very frustrated and grumpy’ by injury blow – Norway boss

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-and-a-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.”

Time to reset.

All together for the run-in, Gunners ❤️