Arsenal face nightmare Martin Odegaard situation after Mikel Arteta injury admission

Martin Odegaard looks set to return to the Arsenal starting XI on Sunday in what is a massive boost to Mikel Arteta. The Gunners have been without their captain since the end of August in the Premier League.

Odegaard suffered an ankle injury on international duty with Norway at the beginning of September and only made his return to the pitch for the Gunners in the closing stages of their defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

With question marks around Declan Rice's availability for the big London derby with Chelsea on Sunday due to a foot injury, Odegaard returning to the fold is timely.

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Having seen their skipper pick up an injury while on duty with Norway, seeing him miss crucial club matches, Arsenal supporters will be reluctant to see Odegaard go off on international duty again. Sunday's match with Chelsea will be the last for two weeks as the final international break of the year takes place.

With Odegaard fit again, he could be called up by Stale Solbakken. And Arteta delivered an update on that situation ahead of the game with the Blues.

Arteta said: "Let’s see how he goes, how he trains tomorrow (Saturday). 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."

The three parties are Arsenal, Norway and Odegaard himself. He will want to play for his country and help them with their Nations League quest. The Norwegians top Division B group 3 after four matches and could be promoted to the A-League with two wins over this international break.

However, that brings up something of a nightmare scenario for Arsenal. Arteta will be acutely aware of what happened last time he was called up and will need his captain fit and available for the busy run of festive fixtures at the end of November and into December.

The best thing for Arsenal would be Odegaard staying at home. That would probably be best for Odegaard too, however it would not be in Norway's best interests.