Arsenal have suffered a blow ahead of this weekend's London derby against Chelsea as new recruit Martin Odegaard will be not be available due to visa issues.
Odegaard, 22, signed for the Gunners on a permanent £30million move from Real Madrid after a successful loan stint in north London last season.
The north Londoners' new attacking midfielder spent the second half of last season with Mikel Arteta's side, adding a total of four-goal contributions including an equaliser in the north London derby against Spurs.
Arteta revealed his delight in reuniting with the Norwegian ace in his pre-match press conference ahead Sunday's Premier League game against Thomas Tuchel's high-flying Blues side.
He told reporters: "Well a lot of things that he brought last season. He made us better. We needed more options, more alternatives, creativity and players that can be models in this football club.
"He’s still a really young man but he has huge experiences in big clubs already and he has a unique talent for the way we want to play as well.
"So I am delighted the club has made an effort and we have now Martin in a permanent deal here."
The 22-year-old himself has spoken about his ambitions after his return was confirmed on Friday afternoon.
"I feel like I've come here to settle down, stay for a while and achieve a lot of good things, Odegaard stated. "I'm really motivated to get this club back where it belongs. I really believe that we can achieve something great here."
Unfortunately, the Gunners announced in their club statement for the Odegaard signing that the Norwegian captain will not be making his second debut for the club at the weekend due to an issue that has yet to be resolved.
'The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes and visa requirements. Martin will not be available for Sunday’s match with Chelsea, and we await visa clearance before he will be available for selection.'
With this being the case, we could well see Arsenal's new number eight first feature in the Carabao Cup game away to Championship side West Brom next Wednesday.
