Are Arsenal's troubles all down to Martin Odegaard's injury?

Arsenal have been off the boil of late, but is it all down to the Gunners missing their captain?

Ever since Martin Odegaard got injured, Arsenal hasn't been the same side, especially going forward with their title challenge almost in tatters.

While we are only through ten of the 38 league games, the Gunners are already seven points behind leaders Liverpool and five behind second-placed Manchester City. Based on last season, Arsenal were nearly perfect after Christmas and that still wasn't enough, so seven points behind already feels like a big challenge to reel in.

But that is where the Gunners find themselves just ten games into the league season, and one could argue that due to Odegaard's absence, Arsenal has lost not only its sense of direction going forward but also part of its ruthless identity that the skipper so often exudes.

So, is his absence being felt far more than we think?

Are Arsenal's troubles all down to Martin Odegaard's injury?

With so many questions aimed at the Gunners and why they don't seem to be clicking, Optus Sports' Mark Schwarzer thinks Arsenal's failures of late come down to one thing - Odegaard's absence.

"For me, it all comes down to Martin Odegaard," Schwarzer wrote. "Their record since he was injured in the first international break of the season is two wins, two losses and two defeats. It just shows how big a player he is to them. They’ve dropped off because they’re lacking ideas without Odegaard but Odegaard has been out for a number of weeks now and still no one has stepped up and filled the creative void."

Are Schwarzer's comments valid? Is it really all down to Odegaard? Well, to an extent, but there are other issues at play, too.

Arsenal have also had defensive injury concerns which has occasionally seen Thomas Partey utilised at right-back, much to the detriment of the Gunners' midfield control - as we saw in the second-half against Shakhtar Donetsk.

But against Newcastle, it was as poor a performance from the Gunners in recent memory, and that can't be all attributed to Odegaard's absence however it certainly plays a part. And that leads to what could already been seen as an insurmountable gap between the Gunners and leaders Liverpool

Perhaps once the Arsenal skipper returns to the side, there will be an uptick in performance from his team, but hopefully the Gunners' title charge isn't over by the time he returns.

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