Why does it always seem to be that as well as being hit with terrible luck on the injury front on a regular basis, Arsenal often lose a number of players from the same part of the team? So instead of losing a centre back and the back up getting a chance, we lose two or three and have to play a full back out of position or something like that.
Right now it is the right side of the Arsenal team that has been ravaged by injury problems. Not long after losing Aaron Ramsey, Arsene Wenger was dismayed to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have to be replaced on that depressing Capital One cup night in Sheffield and when his replacement Theo Walcott lasted just a few minutes, the curse had well and truly struck.
Thankfully we have managed to get by so far as Joel Campbell has done about as well as we could have expected after so little first team action. So I’m sure that the boss would have wanted Campbell to be fit and ready for action when the Gunners take on West Brom next weekend, but we have a big problem there.
Not only is Wenger worried about the possibility of burn out or injury to Alexis Sanchez, the Campbell situation is worse in a way because he will be the last Gunner to play an international match next week. Costa Rica take on Panama in a crucial World Cup qualifier in the early hours of Wednesday morning so he probably won’t be back in England until Thursday.
That is cutting it fine to say it mildly, as we are in Premier League action on the Saturday, and even if Campbell does start you would not expect him to last the distance. So even though Wenger would want to ease the Ox back into action, despite a report by Metro claiming that he will be ready, the Frenchman may have little choice but to take a risk.
How would you line Arsenal up away to West Brom?