Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland are international teammates and regular communicators on WhatsApp, but the pair have refused to chat about this week's clash between Arsenal and Manchester City.
The two Norwegians will face off as key players for the Gunners and City respectively when the pair meet in a title showdown at the Emirates on Wednesday night. It's the Gunners who currently have the advantage, boasting a three-point lead with a game in hand, but a win for City in the capital will send them top on goal difference.
It's all set up to be an enthralling contest and Odegaard and Haaland - if passed fit - can expect to play defining roles given their form this season. The latter has racked up 31 goals in all competitions since his arrival at the Etihad while Odegaard has spearheaded an impressive Arsenal season under former City coach Mikel Arteta.
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The 24-year-old fully expected Haaland to hit the ground running in the Premier League and is relishing the midweek clash.
"To be honest, I’m not surprised,” the Arsenal skipper said of the frontman's record at City. "I’ve seen him for the last few years and the level he is on he will score goals. He is a great player, an unbelievable goalscorer.
"We have a little group chat with some of the boys from the national team, we speak in there a lot but we haven’t spoken about the game. It's an important game, it's a top-of-the-table game and there’s a lot of history with these teams, but you have to take it as a normal game, do what we always do and really go for it to get the result that we want."
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