Arsenal huddle
Arsenal huddle
A name on a matchday list is not a start. It is the step after a missed session and a scan.
Managers who will not say yes or no are usually waiting on the player, not the X-ray. The pictures have already done their job.
Thursday night in Cardiff will show whether the ankle can do more than train.
READ MORE: Leeds United handed huge injury boost ahead of Arsenal clash
Martin Odegaard has been named in Norway’s 23-man squad to face Wales tonight, after scans found no significant damage to the ankle he hurt in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal. He missed training on Tuesday, returned to the pitch in Cardiff on Wednesday, and is among the players available. Kristian Thorstvedt and Sondre Langås were left out after Norway travelled with 25.
Ståle Solbakken would not commit on Wednesday. “I wish I could say yes, but I can’t,” he said. “I can’t say no either.”
The injury came from Bernardo Silva’s late challenge. Ødegaard said afterwards that the tackle “doesn’t belong on a football field.” Brede Hangeland had already reported less pain and nothing dramatic on the images. Arsenal’s medical staff have stayed in contact all week.
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🚨Martin Odegaard is in the Norway squad to face Wales tonight.
[@RyanTaylorSport] pic.twitter.com/kMT6UTUupJ
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) October 1, 2026
Selection is still open. Norway also face Portugal in Porto on Sunday, so a squad place tonight could become minutes twice before he flies home. Arsenal play Leeds on 10 October. That gap is the recovery window Arteta wanted if the captain was only sore.
The rest of the injury list has not cleared. Kai Havertz came back early from Germany with a muscle problem. Declan Rice left the England squad for load management. William Saliba is targeting November after returning to running. Gabriel and Bruno Guimarães are on individual plans after Brazil duty. Ezri Konsa was omitted from England’s Czechia squad after a minor issue.
Ødegaard’s inclusion is the clearest sign yet that this ankle is not a weeks-long absence. It is not a guarantee he starts in Cardiff or finishes in Porto. Solbakken has left the last call to how the joint feels in the warm-up.
For Arsenal the useful version is a captain who is named, managed, and back at London Colney next week without a fresh scan. The other version is 90 minutes tonight and another 90 on Sunday. The squad list allows both. The manager’s quote still sits in the middle. He cannot say yes. He cannot say no. Kick-off will.
Arsenal - John Mikel Obi
Arsenal - John Mikel Obi