Arsenal fans raging as ‘smug’ Norway boss ‘cracks joke’ about Martin Odegaard’s devastating injury on live TV
ARSENAL fans have been left fuming after Norway manager Stale Solbakken made a joke about Martin Odegaard’s injury.
The club captain is a huge doubt for the North London derby against bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Odegaard was in action for Norway in their 2-1 Nations League win over Austria last night when he picked up a devastating injury.
The 25-year-old was left in agony and had to be subbed off just after the hour mark, appearing to hurt his ankle following a tussle with Christoph Baumgartner.
Norway boss Solbakken gave an update on the player’s injury after the game and he made a joke that surely made Mikel Arteta rage.
He said: “It looked very painful in the locker room. I saw that he was sitting with the physios around him and he had no chance to continue.
“We know that it is an ankle sprain.
“Those of us who have played football know with luck it can turn out OK – if the ligaments are not torn.
“But I am not really sure Arteta will call me tonight to praise me.”
Solbakken delivered his bizarre joke with a cheeky grin on his face.
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The remarks made Arsenal fans fuming, with one saying: “It looks bad. Even cracking a joke at the end – smug.”
Another added: “That’s an absolutely disgusting attitude.”
A third commented: “Why the f*** is he smirking at the end?”
More reacted: “Sounds like a Man City fan.”
Arsenal face a crucial run of games, with the trip to Spurs coming before their Champions League opener against Atalanta and Premier League clash against title rivals City.
Arteta has a midfield selection headache to deal with as he is already without Declan Rice for the North London derby due to his red card last time out against Brighton.
And new signing Mikel Merino looks set to be injured for another month.
In defence, Riccardo Calafiori returned home from international duty early after picking up a minor calf strain and Takehiro Tamiyasu has a knee problem.
Up front, Gabriel Jesus has a chance of returning from a muscle issue.