It is very easy to blame Martin Odegaard when Arsenal has lost this season – but don't be so fast.
He is the captain and the talismic figure of the club, so often familiar for magical moments and so often in recent seasons.
This term, those moments there are few in between, with only five goals and nine assists in 40 performances in all competitions.
In the second half of injury time, with 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final first stage last night in the first stage of the Champions League, Odegaard was immersed by Mikel Arteta for the 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who had only tried a chance.
That is about Odegaard summarized at the moment.
The French media went hard on the Norwegian in their reviews. Get French football news gave him 4/10. Maxi Foot went with 3/10.
Foot Mercato compared Odegaard with a “spirit” that “constantly made bad decisions”.
It feels like this campaign has taken its toll on Odegaard, every game that looks like a painful struggle when he is normally effortlessly brilliant.
His execution, his inspiration, his consistency, was missing, and that can be attributed to a number of factors.
An ankle injury arrived at Norway on 9 September, derailed his momentum at the start of the season and returned almost two months later and only one goal in his next 18 games.
Then the 26-year-old became father with his wife Helene for the first time at the beginning of December, an important period that will have exhausted him mentally and physically.
And then, perhaps the most important thing, the injuries for important players came. First it was Bukayo Saka, then it was Gabriel Jesus and then it was Kai Havertz, all at the beginning of February.
The spotlight, the investigation, the pressure on others has suddenly tightened up on Odegaard. The expectation was that he would take on the challenge and drag Arsenal to glory.
Every fan that Arsenal has recently viewed can tell you that it did not happen. He lets games pass him instead of taking them by the neck could pull rabbits out of the hat.
And yet the statistics tell a slightly different story that Odegaard stands up in the absence of others, but is abandoned by those who are currently around him.
Since the beginning of last season, when he plays with Havertz at the top, Odegaard has 14 goals and 13 assists, and per 90 minutes creates an average of 2.5 opportunities, produces 2.7 crosses and plays 7.2 fits in the box.
In the 20 games played without the German striker, Odegaard only has two goals and seven assists, but has produced more opportunities per 90 minutes [2.9]more cross [3.5] And more goes into the box [8.6].
It is the same story with Saka. With the wing player of England on the field since 2023/24, Odegaard has scored 11 goals with 15 assists and averages per 90 minutes created opportunities, 2.1 crosses and 6.8 fits into the box.
Without him the goal of Odegaard fell and helps with five, but racks up per 90 minutes 2.8 created opportunities, 5.4 crosses and 9.5 fits into the box.
Odegaard's figures rise but his target involvement is not. What does that tell us? It shows that Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard sometimes do not get the most out of the positioning and vision of Odegaard, so that the Arsenal playmaker is frustrated and isolated.
It is demonstrable why he lost 14 times against PSG and lost six of his eight ground matches.
And between them, Merino, Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli missed a joint 21 big opportunities this season.
As the saying is: “A bad workman blames his tools”, but Odegaard may have a point.
After a summer of peace, recovery and family time, connected by new signing sessions in the preseason with a view to quality over quantity, we will probably see Odegaard return at its best.