Is Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard injured? Premier League injury update

Arsenal have suffered a number of injuries to key players during the early part of the 2025/26 season.

Captain Martin Ødegaard is among them having missed out on Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Athletic Club in their opening UEFA Champions League fixture on Tuesday evening.

This weekend, the Gunners host Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium knowing three points will be essential to gain early ground in the title race, particularly given rivals City and Liverpool’s respective starts.

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Is Martin Ødegaard injured?

Martin Odegaard adjusts his captain’s armband while playing for Norway (Image credit: Alamy)

The Norwegian is pushing for a return against Pep Guardiola’s men this weekend after landing awkwardly on his shoulder during Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last week.

It was a recurrence of the shoulder injury suffered by the 26-year-old during Arsenal’s 5-0 victory over Leeds United last month, Mikel Arteta confirmed.

Martin Odegaard is the Arsenal skipper (Image credit: Getty Images)

The manager did state it was unlikely Ødegaard would require surgery, however, he did miss training on Monday, which necessitated his absence from the matchday squad versus the Bilbao-based club on Tuesday.

Ødegaard spent an extended period out injured this time last season after picking up an ankle problem which left him sidelined for two months.

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On the whole, though, the Norway international’s injury issues whilst at the Emirates Stadium have typically been minor with the midfielder having a propensity to recover quickly from small knocks and sprains.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are all expected to be out for this weekend’s clash with City, although Saka could be a late inclusion.