Declan Rice and Mikel Merino were other notable stars missing, also in midfield, but Mikel Arteta's squad were still able to get the job done at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The challenges do not get any easier though, with Arsenal starting their Champions League campaign away to Atalanta on Thursday before then facing Manchester City three days later in the Premier League.
Ahead of the clash against Spurs, Arteta was asked for the latest on Odegaard with his update providing some optimism. "We need some more tests," he said on Friday. "Let's see what happens over the next day or so. This afternoon probably... Let's see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see."
Pushed further on the severity of his injury, Arteta added: "I can leave that to the doctor. He's willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let's see what happens."
Despite lingering hope, the 25-year-old missed the North London Derby and there's no clear indication of when he might return. However, Odegaard has been spotted out on the grass at London Colney ahead of Thursday's journey to Italy - but not to take part in a training session as such.
On Tuesday, Arsenal posted their annual squad photograph to their official club website with Odegaard, as captain, understandably front and centre next to Arteta. While it may appear a minor thing, placed in front of his injured left foot was a football.
(Image: Arsenal's official club website)
Bukayo Saka, on the other side of Arteta, also saw one in the exact same position in front of his right foot, maybe so it does not look oddly placed in front of Odegaard.
Saying that, going back through the years that has never been done before. The official photo from the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 campaign saw nothing of the sort in front of the bottom row, although last season's photo saw the Community Shield trophy placed in front of Arteta.
The decision to include two footballs could mean absolutely nothing, but one theory could be that it is hiding the fact Odegaard is not wearing a boot on his left foot. Due to the swelling, he returned to England without one, and that could still be the case as he continues on the road to recovery.
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