Martin Odegaard revealed ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash against Manchester City that he had been in regular contact with his Norway teammate Erling Haaland. The Gunners captain is good friends with Haaland who is currently leading the way as the Premier League top scorer with 25 goals in 21 games.
Odegaard is enjoying a successful season of his own having already notched eight goals and provided a further six assists this season. The City striker was a doubt ahead of the clash against Arsenal after being withdrawn at half-time of the 3-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend.
The 22-year-old took part in training on Tuesday afternoon after there were fears he may miss the match with a suspected thigh injury. Odegaard admitted he has been watching a lot of City's games this season with the Gunners hoping to keep their lead at the top of the table following tonight's match.
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Despite the pressure on both teams with Arsenal looking to extend their lead to six points and City having the chance to move top with a win, Odegaard and Haaland were seemingly quite calm at half-time with the score at 1-1. The Norwegian compatriots were spotted sharing a laugh and smiling together in the tunnel before resuming their conversation as City got the second half underway.
These moments between opposition players may be frowned upon by some pundits and fans, but both players were back fully focused once play resumed. Despite their close friendship, Odegaard would love to get one over his Norway teammate and help the north Londoners move six points clear at the top of the table.
Speaking to Arsenal's official website ahead of the clash, Odegaard said: "One of their new players this season is my Norway teammate Erling Haaland. We get on well off the pitch, and to be honest we have been in touch as usual this week.
"We don’t speak much about the games anyway, so nothing much has changed. We are in contact a lot, and this week has just been normal really for us – no more, no less. As I said, we just need to focus on ourselves, think about our own game, and get back to winning ways."
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