Martin Odegaard provides dream Arsenal injury update ahead of Tottenham clash

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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been speaking about his recovery from injury ahead of the North London Derby against Tottenham

Martin Odegaard says his injury return is "starting to look better" in a much-needed boost for Arsenal ahead of this weekend's North London Derby with Tottenham.

This has been by far the worst international break for the Gunners so far this season. The Gunners managed to come through the previous two breaks without any issues, somewhat out of the ordinary from previous seasons.

However, November brought a return to form that has plagued prior campaigns. Mikel Arteta will have been gutted to lose Gabriel to an adductor injury, while Riccardo Calafiori suffered a hip issue, ruling him out of both of Italy’s games.

The good news on the latter is that there is hope it is not too serious. And there is further positivity because Odegaard has also given a positive update on his situation.

football.london broke the story last week that the Gunners captain had turned down the opportunity of taking a few days break to instead join up with his national team at the request of coach Stale Solbakken. The Norway captain was in attendance as his teammates secured wins over Estonia and Italy, confirming them as group winners and securing qualification for the World Cup next year for the first time since 1998.

Odegaard might not have been involved in a playing capacity, but his presence was appreciated. The Arsenal captain's presence also meant that he was available for interviews with local media.

When asked about his injury following Norway's 4-1 win over Italy on Sunday, Odegaard told Norwegian outlet TV2: “It’s moving forward. The match today came a little too early… But it’s starting to look better, so hopefully I’ll be back soon.”

Certainly a boost with Arsenal facing Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week when the break ends. Whether he is involved in any of these games, however, remains to be seen.

He also gave his thoughts on Norway’s qualification and his dream of being involved in the World Cup. “The World Cup is one of the biggest things there is,” Odegaard said.

“It's a dream I've had since I was little. To play for the national team and to play in the championship.”

“I've been through a lot, I've been through a lot of tough downs. There have been some playoffs, there have been a lot of tough moments. So it's great to be where we are now.”