Is stopping injuries the key to Arsenal’s success this season?
Arsenal will look to compete for the Premier League title again this season, after heartbreak fell upon us last season, Arsenal fans will be hoping that this year is our year and with a lot of good investment into the squad and already looking up to the task, Arteta will feel a lot of pressure on his shoulders to succeed this season, but with the constant worry of injuries and sickness, Arsenal might have to find a lot of luck if we plan to compete this season.
With the early injury of new Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, our season started off with some problems. Timber who was brought in by Arteta from Ajax in the summer, was brought in for his experience in the Champions League and his outstanding performances in an Ajax shirt, so when he managed to tear his ACL in our 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal fans began to worry.
Timber, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Trossard and Jorginho were all brought in, in the last year, to bolster the Arsenal squad, after last season and just falling short, the key for Arteta was to try and bring in some new faces that would be able to get us over the line and although Rice has been excellent and Havertz is finally starting to get going in Arsenal colours, there’s always going to be the worry of losing players to injury as proven by Timber and Trossard.
Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba are the latest set of injuries Arsenal fans have had to worry about, all being pulled from international duty due to various injuries. All three are a huge part of Arteta’s system and if we were to lose one or two of them for an extended period, we could be in real trouble. Facing off against Manchester City without Saka looked to be the end of the world but we somehow managed to win it without him, but hopefully that type of thing doesn’t become regular, because to me, were just a few injuries away from disaster.
I’m not sure why we’ve been hit so hard with injuries, could be the fact our schedule is so demanding and after the World Cup, The Nations League and now the Euro Qualifiers, our players are bound to be somewhat burnt out, but Arteta need to focus on this a lot and make sure him and his staff do all they can to keep these lads fit and healthy.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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No!
NO,
Only Timber injury is a season long injury. Saliba, Saka and Trossard are just precaution nothing much. And they are likely to be available for Chelsea. Even in the absence of the above mentioned we still have enough bench for Chelsea game.
Nothing to worry or panick about.
I don’t think we would’ve won against Man City without Saliba nullifying Haaland and Rice working hard in midfield. Maybe we can replace Rice with other hardworking midfielder, but I doubt our other CBs can play as good as Saliba
Against Chelsea Saliba would likely be available. But if not fit I believe Tomiyasu or Kiwior will do well.
I hope Saliba will be fit to play, because Kiwior and Tomiyasu don’t seem as dominant aerially
I feel secure with Tomi/Kiwior replacing saliba, we could’ve beaten city regardless.
Haaland handled the likes of De Ligt and Upamecano, but he can’t bully Saliba with his strength and aerial ability
I don’t think Kiwior and Tomiyasu will be as dominant as Saliba in the sweeper CB position, but I hope I’m wrong
We need to adopt fast, real-time passes and shots at goals to win games, avoid injury worries and stay stable. Holding on to the ball and passing around is fraught to errors and injuries from aggressive oponents.
Arsenal move the ball too slow this season and make our game sluggish at time compared to last season. This slow paced approach makes the team predictable by opposition there is need for improvement
Arsenal need all their players available to be able to compete, up Gunner’s.
Isn’t this true for every team in all team sports? By the way,I think we are relatively good with respect to injuries compared to other Premier League teams. Injuries are inevitable and the occurrence of injuries is only going to increase unfortunately, partly because of the heavy load the football governing bodies have been putting on these athletes lately . The schedule does not allow for sufficient rest/recovery in my opinion.
I disagree with both Eke and Sylva on the topic of our slower football . It is true Arsenal is moving the ball much slower this season and I think this shift is deliberate. Holding onto the ball is a smart move because, simply, your opponent can’t score if they don’t have the ball. Contrary to what you say Eke, this slow paced approach is less prone to errors and the statistics back it up. So far this season, Arsenal has faced the least shots on target, conceding just 6 goals, which is joint least in the league alongside Manchester City. Attacking high up the pitch fast and with numbers like last season exposes the team to counter attacks- our losses to both United and City last season were precisely because of this.It is not a coincident that we have beaten both sides this season while adopting the more conservative approach.
In addition to that, playing at a slower pace preserves energy and possibly reduces injury risk. The football we played last season was fast and exciting but it expended so much energy to the extent that the players tired a lot in second halves of games and indeed the second half of the season. It was a joy to watch but also naive and unsustainable over the course of a season unless you’re playing robots. I think burnout due to how we played contributed to loss of form by some of our players towards the end of the season.Our football this season is slower but more mature, controlled and composed. It is less exciting but more likely to get us a trophy than last season’s.
Like you, I liked the fast paced games of last season but I also understand that to win the league, we have to be more pragmatic. I don’t think we are going to see that kind of football again this season. Even in games we’ve won with multiple goals, the emphasis has been on control.If this pragmatic approach leads us to glory at the expense of free flowing football, then so be it- I’m sure most fans will take it.
That said, there is room for improvement regarding our attacking play. One overlooked factor is that arguably our best attacking players (Martinelli/Jesus/Saka) have been on the pitch together for less than 30 minutes this season. I think our attacking game will improve once we can get all three of them on the pitch. We’ve also missed Partey’s passing through the middle of the pitch.
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i think a few people have missed the point of this article
it asks if Arsenal were to have a future long term injury to one or more key players could impact our title push
the answer must obviously be ‘Yes’
Saliba season ending back injury last year was the perfect example, even though Holding not at fault for too many howlers, our performance levels as a team dropped, we were just not quite the same
Saliba has proven so important again this year, and believe it or not we actually have less defensive depth, so Saliba and/or Gabriel going down for 3 months could have a massive impact
Saka and Odegaard the same – there are no one for one replacements and we would undoubtedly be worse off
so as the articles asks, could being injury free be season deciding, the the answer is ‘yes’ it could
I dont agree at all that we have been hit harder then the average amount by injuries Daisy blithely makes a claim without giving any evidence for her hyped claim. All clubs have injuries and only one player , Timber, is out for any time. That is perfectly normal.
So DAISY,I do NOT accept your false premise at all!
To expect NO key inuries for the whole season is fanciful in the extreme , which renders the question just below the headline as irrelevant.
I agree with Onyango, please name me a club in any sport, let alone the EPL, which wouldn’t be critically affected by injuries to principal players?
One only has to look at the impact of William Saliba’s injury on Arsenal’s run in to the end of last season. Even this season Arsenal hasn’t strengthened to provide a “like for like” replacement (to equivalent quality). Similarly Manchester City are obviously missing KDB and Rohdri, despite having a deep squad this season, and Spurs are light on at CB, should an injury occur to Van derived Ven or Romero.