Manchester City striker Erling Haaland believes his national team captain Martin Odegaard would get into the Premier League champions’ starting lineup.

While the pair will be on the same side during the international break, they will come up against each other on Sunday week when Haaland’s City take on Odegaard’s Arsenal. Asked whether the Gunners star would improve Pep Guardiola’s team, Haaland replied:

“Yes, I think so. There’s a good player, and a player that plays for our rivals. He’s just signed a new contract, so it’s not a topic, but at City we have a lot of best players in the world.”

As Haaland mentions, there is zero chance of Odegaard moving to the Etihad, with the Arsenal captain having put pen to paper on a new five-year deal back in September.

There is clearly a lot of mutual respect between the two players, though, who came through Norway’s youth system at nearly the same time.

Odegaard is just a couple of years older than Haaland, with both having emerged as key players for their respective clubs over the past two seasons.

Haaland’s injury scare

There was a heart-in-mouth moment for City fans earlier this week when the striker limped out of training with Norway. However, it was subsequently confirmed by the team doctor that Haaland had suffered no ill effects.

The Manchester City forward is expected to feature when Norway take on the Czech Republic in a friendly on Friday evening.

City v Arsenal team news

Both sides have fitness concerns going into the game. Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson are minor doubts with Guardiola stating that he hopes the international break will give the pair enough time to recover.

The Gunners currently have three key players sidelined, including Bukayo Saka (who pulled out of the England squad on Thursday), Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli.