Arsenal receive Martin Odegaard injury update ahead of Brentford clash

Norway national team head coach Stale Solbakken has provided an update on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard's fitness ahead of the Gunners' Premier League clash against Brentford later this month. Odegaard was left out of the squad against Newcastle United and Sevilla prior to the international break, with the talented playmaker failing a fitness test ahead of the loss against Eddie Howe's side after being checked over for concussion.

Concussion rules state players must rest for six days and be symptom-free before returning to action. The 24-year-old would have been able to face Burnley on Saturday - but due to a hip problem, he remained on the sidelines as the north Londoners won 3-1 thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Mikel Arteta is hopeful his captain can be passed fit to face Brentford after the international break, with Norway boss Solbakken now delivering an update on his skipper. Speaking about Odegaard's injury during a press conference, Solbakken said: "When the club is so reticent, I don’t know how right it is for me to talk about it.

"It’s a normal football injury that you probably recover from very well and that is not career-threatening.” It would be a welcome boost to Arteta if the talented playmaker returns to action for the clash against Brentford on November 25 considering fellow attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira will be suspended for the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium.

Vieira was sent off in the second half of Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Burnley a little over 20 minutes after coming off the bench as referee Michael Oliver adjudged his high challenge to be dangerous, meaning he will be suspended for the next three fixtures. Elsewhere, holding midfielder Thomas Partey remains a long-term absentee, with the Ghana international undergoing a procedure that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of 2023, football.london understands.

Since news of the 30-year-old's expected timeline broke, the Gunners have been linked with a number of other midfielders ahead of the January transfer window. football.london understands that one of the players that they are looking at is Martin Zubimendi. The Spanish international has been of interest for a while now and has a €60million release clause in his contract.However, it is thought that he is happy at Real Sociedad and not looking to move in January as things stand. Aston Villa stat Douglas Luiz has also been mooted as a potential target in recent weeks, although the Brazilian couldreportedly cost around £60million, a steep fee indeed considering Arsenal spent in excess of £200million over the summer.