Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard remains a fitness doubt for this Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City
13:31, 19 Mar 2026
Mikel Arteta
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has not been able to call upon his captain Martin Odegaard of late due to a knee injury
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken appears to have indicated Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has an outside chance of playing in the Carabao Cup final.
The attacking midfielder has been missing for the Gunners since coming off the bench in the second half of the 4-1 North London Derby victory at Tottenham.
Since then, Odegaard has been excluded from Solbakken's squad for upcoming friendlies against the Netherlands and Switzerland while Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is only expected to play in one of those games.
Nonetheless, Solbakken insists his skipper could yet return to action before the international break, explaining: "If Martin makes it into the League Cup final squad and manages to train with the team at the end of the week, we will have another conversation about how wise it is for him to be there.
"I'd rather see him build his physique and get a proper training period. I'm not sure if he calls me and says this is going well, I'm not sure I want him with me."
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Solbakken made it clear he would still like to exclude Odegaard from his Norway squad as he feels the player would benefit from further rest and training.
The 27-year-old has been struggling to shake off a knee issue which he initially picked up in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Brentford in February.
Despite returning to action last month after missing matches versus Wigan Athletic and Wolves, Odegaard has now spent several weeks on the sidelines trying to return to full fitness.
But there's a reluctance to rush his return as the issue needs to be managed carefully ahead of Arsenal's run in and Norway's World Cup campaign.
Martin Odegaard
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Martin Odegaard briefly returned for Arsenal vs Tottenham but has been sidelined since(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Speaking in his programme notes on Tuesday, Odegaard was keen to stress he's working hard to be back as quickly as possible.
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He said: "Again, I was so disappointed not to be involved in the game. I’m working hard to be back as soon as I can, and I’m feeling stronger all the time. I was in the stadium on Saturday though of course, watching the game with my brother, who you might have seen on the Modern Leader documentary on the Arsenal App."
It's been a disruptive campaign for the playmaker, who also suffered shoulder and knee (separate to current problem) injuries earlier in the season.
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