Tribal Football

Arteta lays out Arsenal plans for Odegaard; wary of Norway call

Paul Vegas
Arteta lays out Arsenal plans for Odegaard; wary of Norway call
Arteta lays out Arsenal plans for Odegaard; wary of Norway callAction Plus
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has laid out their recovery plan for Martin Odegaard.

Odegaard is fit to face Chelsea on Sunday, having come off the bench in the Champions League defeat at Inter Milan.

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However, Arteta is wary of allowing their captain to join Norway's squad next week.

“Let’s see how he goes, how he trains tomorrow,” said Arteta. “He’s available, he’s fit, if he does play, how he feels after that and then we will make the decision between the three parties."

On Odegaard, rescuing their form slump, the manager continued: “I think demanding that is not very realistic.

“It’s about the collective and every player taking ownership of what we have to do in attack and doing it better more consistently.

“But certainly, having a player like Martin helps because he’s shown how important he’s been for us in the last two-three years.

“We hope that is going to help because he’s been incredibly good for us. Not only the impact he has on the team in that phase, but in other phases that are so linked to the attacking phase.

“Especially the way we transition from on to the other. He’s been out for a while, so let’s hope he can impact the team very quickly. That’s the way I think.”

Arteta added, “He’s always very close and active with the team. He knows the role and responsibilities he has.

“He tried his best but not having him in the squad, in the hotel with us on many occasions, it is different. But the team, when we talk about motivation, had no issues at all.”