There is more evidence today that Arsenal may have finally got to the root of the problem that has seen Arsene Wenger have to cope with a crippling injury list for most of the current season and the whole of our last campaign. It has been a problem which many believe has cost the Gunners a good chance of the Premier League title this year, but especially last time around when we were flying high up until the halfway point before losing the likes of Ramsey, Walcott and Ozil.
Arsene Wenger spoke about it towards the end of last season and then brought a couple of fitness and medical experts in during the summer. So the news reported by The Mirror today that Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy are back in training this week, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has a good chance of being available for the Liverpool game next weekend is very welcome to Arsenal fans.
It leaves just the unlucky Abou Diaby in the treatment room and suggests that the club could be able to stay relatively injury free from now on, although with the international games about to start I am not counting any chickens.
We don´t know how long it will take for Debuchy, Arteta and Wilshere to be fit enough to play as they have all been out for a long time but they could still have an important part to play before the summer break. It is great news for them and for Arsenal and we can only hope that Wenger will have a fuller squad to choose from next season. Will that prove to be the difference between a top four spot and the very top?
No, I believe the Top 4 is done already. Pool would need 7 points to overtake us and Tottenham/Southampton 8 knowing that the latter 2 need to play each other and City. Looking at our fixtures we can forecast a minimum of 15 points so in theory a draw against Liverpool would see us finish above them. My Prediction is third place.
Great news about the injuries though!
I forgot to add that Pool will be without Gerrard, Skertel and Sturridge for a little while which should help us out.
Reasonable prediction. But I would feel more comfortable with a win against Liverpool. That would give us a 9-point buffer. Top 4 would then really be done and second place would even be reachable…
I have a good feeling about the Liverpool match, with their key players being injured and things. However, results from the past continue to haunt me, it will not be an easy win. If we win against Liverpool and Chelsea/Manure, i think the 2nd place is alot more likely than 4th
I’m prepared to stand corrected but I think Pool have beaten us just once in the PL since Dec 2001. I know it don’t mean jack but they are not one of jinx teams of late.
Feel sorry for Abou. He was even hoping to make the cut for the France team for last year’s world cup 🙁 😮 Didn’t work out though. Maybe we could give him a scouting role for Arsenal?
why? wtf – feeling sorry for someones situation doesnt mean we go out of our way to the point of being mugs.
remind me how much moneys hes collected from us while being injured.
He’s stopped collecting his salary since he got injured (so I heard)
How was a he able to pay his bills, did he sign on the sick? After all he has been injured for tow and a half years now.
If you saw his weekly wage, you wouldn’t ask this question. Trust me 😉
that’s a rumor i don’t believe. he has to get paid to be on our roster.
Oh please,keep away Wilsh and Artet from the first team,make them play only in cup games or as late subs when the game is isafe or secure.
Those two are a reminder of bad times in term of results.
Arsenal fans forget so easily. Arteta is good. He’s been pretty helpful, but with him we were never direct and fast in our play.
Wilshere has a fighting spirit, but he holds onto the ball for much too long and destroys the tempo of our game.
There’s not enough time left in the season to integrate Arteta or Wilshere into the lineup. They will take time to regain form. They should be emergency substitutes only.
I want Arsenal to go on an unbelievable run to win the last 8 games of the EPL.
That should give us chance for number 2 spot and a good motivator for next season.
If we win 8 we could have a very slim shot at the title.
really? still? smh- guess someone has to
No-one on here or anywhere else seriously thinks we have any chance but No.10 is right when he says IF (massively BIG f**k off “IF”) we win all 8 then we have a “very slim” chance. Us winning 8 obviously means we beat them, so is it wholly inconceivable that Chelsea draw 2 and lose 1 of their other 7 remaining games before the last match of the season? If that happened we’d both be 81 pts going in to the last game.
The problem is not Chelsea dropping points, because they will, it is that the chances of us having 8 straight wins is an astronomically long shot.
Yeah and if the Hull keeper didn’t f@ck up for Remi’s goal….
If we win all our 8 games, we’ll finish with 84 points (City finished with 86 points last season). I will take a 1-0 win (a Cazorla penalty in the 89th minute) for the rest of the season all day long 🙂
“Having a fuller squad to choose from” is not a headache that Wenger likes to have….
Wenger not really good at rotating players well
Imagine a midfield and wingers of JW, Car, Arteta, Ramsey, Coq, Carz, Ozil, Wel, Sanchez, Ox, TR, Podolsk, Walcott….how often would each 1 of them get game time?, then you would find players frustrated on bench.
TR had 1 bad Capital cup game and was then left out for a long time, and only got a chance to prove himself again when injuries happened, now he hasn’t done much wrong, but doesn’t get game time…
the same can be said for Utd Chelsea and City….they dont rotate much…only use about 16-17 players
But SAF did….and we all know how many titles/cups he wont….
He always had 8 or 9 starters inked in – he rotated in cup competitions but not hugely so in the league. He never once played as many squad players in the league as Wenger has this season.
He has used 29 different squad players in the PL this season. Only one Arsenal player in Top 50 Most Minutes Played in PL this season (Mertesacker at No.42), only another 2 in the Top 100 (Cazorla 59th and Alexis 64th) and only one further Arsenal player in Top 150 (Monreal at 141st). One of the lightest used squad of players in the PL. Plenty of churn and shuffling.
There has been significant rotation both by design and forced (injuries). Seems people get upset when their favs are not starting regularly. Squad depth = bench time.
very good point..
For some reason I begin to regret why we signed debuchy because Hector’s current run in the team is so exciting to watch don’t wanna see him go back to the bench…… And the presence of Debuchy means that Chambers will get very little or no chance at all, because I don’t see the boss using him in CB position any time soon. Gunners for lifeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@MjSayeed
Debauchy would also look good as a DM pairing with LeCoq. Keeping Bellerin on the wing…
I think we should sign another player who is injured all year round and plays 1 game a year to keep Diaby with company. He must feel lonely
Or
We could let Diaby go in the summer and use his wages for another player
Errrr..Tis good we have players back but I see no proof that we have changed/stopped whatever it is/was that gives us soooooo many injuries in the first place?
What happened to Haywill? I actually miss him lol
I’m glad Debuchy is coming back.
He was chosen over Sagna by the French national team before being injured. He is also better than Monreal at CB. The few times he played CB he was excellent.
I think Debuchy is better than Bellerin BUT, Bellerin deserves to finish out the season as 1st RB. Debuchy should come off the bench.
If Debuchy plays better than Bellerin in the summer then he should start as 1st again.
I think Debuchy vs Bellerin may become like Monreal vs Gibbs.
When it comes to Arteta, I’m not sure to be honest. I think next season he will take the role of Flamini this season. He will play a few Matches and FA/League Cup.
Coquelin getting injured scares me. We need another quality DM, because Flamini won’t be here (probably), Diaby injured, Arteta only reliable for the odd match, Wilshere hasn’t proven himself at DM.
For the last three years Arsenal supporters have been questioning the ability of the club’s medical team it was obvious for all to see it just took Wenger a lot longer.
@galen
Well put Gooner…
Hey galen you are in an unusually happy mood today. Think you are bang on with the above post.