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Arsenal's season has not been bad by any means, despite whatever narrative the fans and the media tries to fuel against them.
Despite the loss to Manchester City in the Carbao Cup final, Arsenal are still in a great position. Being in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup is no easy feat, while also leading the Premier League table by nine points.
Arsenal's form may have dipped in some games, but they still have looked really good, and are still the best team in England.
However, the game against Manchester City showed them a lot of problems that need addressing, and one of them is not being talked about enough.
Man City exposed the one Arsenal player they simply can't replace
It was clear that Arsenal did not create any end product against City in the Carabao Cup final. They looked toothless going forward, and their attack looked as disjointed as it has ever looked. The creativity from midfield was not there, either, as Pep Guardiola's Man City had blocked all ways for Arsenal's defenders to get the ball to their midfielders without going long.
In the few times the ball did go to Arsenal's creative midfielders, they looked out of ideas and recycled possession until the ball was lost.
Those things happened too many times, and it gave rival fans an idea of how their respective teams can play against The Gunners when it is time.
It also showed the importance of one man who was missing from the pitch: Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard may not be at his best - and it has been a while since that has happened - but even in the games that Odegaard plays in at this level, he still provides the team with something that Arteta keeps looking for in other players in the Norwegian midfielder's absence.
The final pass that links the midfield to the attack is missing because there is no other profile like Odegaard at Arsenal. In fact, according to Squawka, Odegaard is ninth on the list of most successful passes into the penalty area in the Premier League this season.
He sits ninth with 36 of those passes, but what people are not realising is that Odegaard has missed so much time due to injury, which makes those numbers even better.
If he was fit for the whole season, he still probably would not top Bruno Fernandes' 65 passes, but he would be close.
That is essentially what Arsenal miss in so many games. The way Odegaard drops into the deeper areas of the pitch to help the team evade press, then quickly progressing the ball into the penalty area for a genuine chance.
These are the little things that go unnoticed when fans watch Odegaard play, even when he is not at his best, and sometimes, that is the biggest difference between a good and bad day for Arsenal.