Norway boss Stale Solbakken has revealed Martin Odegaard is back in his homeland after suffering an MCL injury last weekend against West Ham. The 26-year-old attacking midfielder was forced to withdraw from international duty after suffering the blow following an awkward clash of knees with Hammers attacker Crysencio Summerville.

Nonetheless, Arsenal were willing to give Odegaard their seal approval and allow their skipper to return to Norway where he paid his national team-mates a visit.

Solbakken has revealed Odegaard had lunch with his Norway colleagues on Thursday and additionally, he will also attend their crunch World Cup qualification match against Israel in Oslo on Saturday.

The 57-year-old said: "He was here and watched a bit, and had a nice lunch with the guys. Martin is a big part of us, he is our captain even though he doesn't play.

"We would have liked to have him on the field, but he is a good man off it. A nice guy who can talk football, and can talk about everything else. He is a security factor for the group."

Arsenal and Norway remain reluctant to put a timeframe on Odegaard's return but the fact he...