Arsenal news: Martin Odegaard caught up in Norway storm as Arsene Wenger labelled 'lucky'

Arsenal will be praying that Bukayo Saka's injury on Thursday night whilst away with England is nothing serious as they already deal with some notable absentees

Arsenal lost a major name in Martin Odegaard when the latest international break came around and they'll be praying there isn't a repeat.

Bukayo Saka hobbled off during England's game at Wembley on Thursday and the Gunners can ill afford to lose another of their major attacking weapons. Mikel Arteta's side remain unbeaten this term and are just a point of Premier League pacesetters Liverpool.

When domestic football returns from its pause the north Londoners will head out on the road to take on Bournemouth - which is the first one four games in 11 days to close out October as the games come thick and fast across three competitions.

Here's the latest news coming out of the Emirates.

Saka injury fears remain

Arsenal face a nervous wait to see how bad Saka’s injury is after he was forced off during England’s defeat by Greece on Thursday night. Saka hobbled off clutching his hamstring in the second-half and was replaced by Noni Madueke. The Arsenal winger pulled up while trying to deliver a cross and was immediately taken off, prompting fear among those associated with the north London outfit.

Mikel Arteta's side lost captain Martin Odegaard to injury during the last international break and will be concerned that Saka could go the same way. He was seen hobbling out of Wembley after the disappointing result and interim manager Lee Carsley said they don’t yet know how severe the problem is.

“He’s being assessed,” Carsley said in his post-match press conference. “Obviously, in the build-up to the first goal, you could see he felt something in his leg.”

Wenger labelled "lucky"

Graeme Souness has caused controversy by claiming Arsene Wenger got "lucky" during his time at Arsenal. The Frenchman is regarded as a hugely innovative figure in the Premier League, twice winning the double and also adding an Invincible season to his CV.

Souness though believes there was perhaps more luck than judgement involved. He said on the Three Up Front podcast : "I've been on the bench listening to what he's telling his players to do. I've been working for Sky in games where he's made very strange decisions. My take on him was he got very, very lucky at a time when French football produced its greatest ever group of players.

"Inherited the best back five in world football and a 22-year-old [Dennis] Bergkamp. I think Wrighty [Ian Wright], there was still life in him. And then he had 10 years where he won a couple of FA Cups, because that cycle had been and gone. I've never spoke to him about football.

Odegaard-Haaland in Covid storm

Erling Haaland and Odegaard are caught up in a scandal that has outraged the Norway team after leaked private messages were published in a new book. In a bid to succeed in the Nations League, a new book titled 'The Battle of the National Team' has alleged that there were deliberate attempts to mislead Norwegian health authorities after finding an 'ethically questionable loophole' during the Covid-19 pandemic.

One chapter explains Norway's plans were thrown into disarray after defender Omar Elabdellaoui tested positive for Covid in November 2020. It is alleged that team doctor Asle B. Kjellsen allowed 19 Norwegian players, including Haaland and Odegaard, to travel to their match against Romania from overseas, rather than on the same flight from Oslo, after realising that Norway's laws did not apply to foreign athletes.

There has since been a leaked group chat messages between Haaland and Odegaard - which have since been shared in an excerpt by NRK - show Haaland sharing a screenshot of the Dagbladet homepage discussing the travel predicament. Odegaard replied to Haaland with a string of seven Santa emojis.

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