Gazza M don't think so. Don't know about injuries/concerns about his physical state, but he was clearly no longer as effective towards the end of his appearances, once teams sussed out that they needed to cover his trademark left footed finesse shooting. My theory is he wasn't as in tune with the automatisms as Arteta wants. (I would often observe him run into other players spaces unwittingly and then try to readjust causing a loss of momentum). He also held on to the ball a bit too long frequently.
Soon as Saka/Odegaard returned Arteta was always going to ride his favorite horses again. Cos that's what he does, and also, perhaps, to shield the player from the pressure of the end of season run in.
