Arsenal have often been mocked for citing injuries as a reason for their struggles during the recently concluded season, but is that criticism entirely fair?
This marks the third consecutive campaign in which the Gunners have failed to secure the Premier League title, finishing as runners-up once again. They also saw their journey in both the UEFA Champions League and Carabao Cup end at the penultimate stages, adding to the growing frustration among supporters who believe the team is close to success but lacks the final push.
Injuries as a Legitimate Factor
In the post-season analysis, fans and pundits have offered various explanations for Arsenal’s inability to win silverware. One recurring argument among supporters has been the impact of injuries to key players throughout the campaign. These setbacks, they believe, played a decisive role in derailing the club’s momentum at critical points.
Although rival fans have dismissed this as an excuse, injury statistics from the Daily Mail suggest there may be merit to Arsenal’s claims. The injury table for the Premier League revealed that while the Gunners were not the most affected, they still endured a significant number of setbacks.
Injury Table Highlights Arsenal’s Challenges
According to the report, Brighton topped the injury list, with their players missing a combined total of 1,944 days. Tottenham Hotspur were second with 1,553 days lost to injury, followed by Ipswich Town with 1,506 days.
Arsenal ranked fourth on the list, recording 36 separate injuries that resulted in their players missing 1,297 days in total. While these figures do not place them at the very top, they still reflect a notable disruption to the squad’s continuity and availability.
In light of this data, the suggestion that injuries hindered Arsenal’s season is not without basis. Maintaining squad fitness is a key element of any title challenge, and losing crucial players during pivotal fixtures can undoubtedly have a detrimental effect.
Given the scale of absences endured, it is reasonable to argue that injuries were a valid contributing factor to the club’s inability to secure a trophy this term.
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Overplaying players with severe lack of rotation in previous seasons is certainly a large contributing factor to the amount of injuries we had this season. I do understand the concet of accountability and responsibility is lost on some.
The list also needs to be split by regular first team players vs squad palyers that barely would’ve touched the pitch to give a better picture anyway but that’s a different discussion.
At the end of the day nobody remembers excuses (or reasons) why a team wasn’t successful, all that is remembered is if you won the league/cup(s) or not.
The understanding of the injury situation over the past season is relevant to how you plan for the next season.
The issue of rotation needs to be considered but to just criticise without any further analyses makes little sense
It make little sense to you yes.
Were most of our injuries impact or collision injuries or more muscular/strains?
Injuries happen, our squad wasn’t adequately built to deal with some of the injuries. This is the reality.
It’s wrong for people to just assume we would have won something with less injuries like its some kind of guarantee, I’d go as far to say it’s convenient to suggest that.
Last paragraph @PJ – bang on the money
It makes little sense because you have stated lack of rotation with no further discussion of reasons or options.
When you are saying that the squad wasn’t built “adequately” what does that mean? “Injuries happen” is not analysis. Every team has injuries and there is little doubt that it impacts team performance. The impact will vary from team to team depending on the number of players out, loss of key players etc.
Fewer injuries, particularly to key players, clearly means you will be more competitive and gives you a better chance of winning titles. At the level highest levels the margins are small and you normally need quality players regularly available to win.
Let me ask you this. How would you have built the squad?
Doesn’t take into account the kind of players who were injured. Were they important players or just squad players. The table isn’t reliable.
I’ll place Tottenham as the worst affected as their first team kept on having endless injuries. Yet many of our fans can’t appreciate what they’ve achieved this season. They have a prestigious European trophy and are in the Champions League like us. Same people use injuries as an excuse for our own failings. Talk of double standards
That’s a typically poor analyses. Spurs were 17th in the PL, Arsenal were second.
Spurs won a second tier tournament. Arsenal got to the SF of a tougher tournament.
Even if you win a cup it is difficult to justify being so close to the relegated teams.
Here we go again. Not always seeing the real picture and always classify Europa league trophy as Tier 2, yet those times we participate in it we never win it.
We took champions league seriously, we never won it.
We took the premier league seriously, we never won it too.
Leicester even won it under our watch.
We lead man city with more than 10 points and we still lost it to them.
Chelski won the conference league and they did trophy parade, we will always console ourselves that it’s a 3rd tier league.
Some people here says we are better than PSG. They beat us home and away. They get to the final and hammered Inter milan, yet some fans will still claim we are the best team in the world. Lol
Whether we won the Europa League or not it is a second tier trophy.
The rest of your comments are just a rant. Injuries have affected our challenges for both the PL and the CL.
Spurs have done well to win the EL, but there is little doubt they have played a lot of limited teams.
Ending up 17th in the PL is also still difficult to justify.
The Europa League no longer has the champion league teams so it is different from when we were in it. Agreed, we messed the league up in 2024, 2023 was a figment of imagination, we had a game in hand vs Man C away so all that being so far ahead was nonsense.
Spot on dgr8xt. I said this in one of the previous threads both Sue P and Chronicles came after me. I’m a die hard arsenal fans however I also like honest reviews irrespective of the rivalry between both clubs
So do I and i have every right to express my opinion on a subject. It hasn’t stopped you has it? As for coming after you … what exactly are you implying?
Ok but what justified us being so far behind in September, when we had few injuries?
You shouldn’t let facts get in the way of a good story
How few were they?Tomi and Merino were obvious early injuries
Apart from that, whilst we were behind, it was still early days in September. We lost out to City previously with a similar points difference. It wasn’t insurmountable in September. By mid to late February and the conveyor belt of injuries it was pretty clear that winning the league was my pipe dream and most other people’s
But Sue we were dropping behind at the beginning when we had very few injuries. That was the catalyst for a bad season.
That’s true but it could have been retrieved. We disagree to some degree about the reasons why. To have played Liverpool and lose Gabby so cruelly when deservedly winning was symptomatic of the season and Liverpool being able to hang on in some matches- which undoubtedly to their credit.
Yes we’ve had a bad run where injury’s are concerned this season. And you could say that it contributed to us not winning the league this season.
But what about the previous two seasons where we had nowhere near the injury’s that we’ve had this season. What was the excuse then.
I’m Shaw there’s going to be plenty coming on to make the case for the defense.
And how Ironic that in a season where we’ve had a lot of injury’s, we came 4th in the injury table. That’s another league we can’t win.😂🤣👍
One can provide analyses of the previous two seasons but I suspect that would be too complicated for some to understand.
Please David,
Do tell us the reasons that we didn’t win the league in the previous two season’s.
It’s not complicated at all, go on give it a go. I’m sure we’ll all get a good laugh out of it.🙄
Come on Derek it’s so easy to make those jibes but wasn’t it the case that City’s ability- strength on the field and with a better manager- to face adversity and as previous multiple winners to use that experience to their advantage?
I’m sorry SueP,
But it happens after every season. Yes this season you can see why it happened, but we get all these excuses season after season. When’s it going to stop.
Its always easy to make excuses if you look hard enough. But here’s a thought, could it actually be that Arteta just isn’t good enough to get us over the line.
Excuse’s, excuse’s excuse’s.🥱🥱🥱
When is this manager going to be held to account. 5 seasons and still we wait.
And just an aside to this post, well done PSG. They absolutely dismantled Inter Milan in the Champions League Final. If only our team could play like them. By the way, has anyone asked Arteta if he still thinks that Arsenal are the best team in Europe.
Yet another quote that has come back to bite him. The man is just a walking excuse, and while you’ve got fans that except mediocrity, he’s going to keep getting the free pass that keeps being afforded him.
This club once had standards, where have they gone. 🤦♂️
😂
No one can discontenance the fact that injuries played significant part in Arsenal’s inability to win the league this season. The truth of the matter is, if Liverpool had the kind of plethora injuries Arsenal had to their key players,, they (Liverpool,) wouldn’t have won the EPL league this season.
You couldn’t even top the injury table 😀
Lol. We can’t win that also 😂😂
And your team is who Kashhy ?
I wouldn’t use injuries as an excuse for our failures, but losing key players at various times certainly didn’t help. Our problems were not having quality (or good enough) replacements.
…which will continue
I guess if we are going to use the injury excuse it would only be valid if we compared it to Liverpool. Had they had a similar bad run with key players going to down , they would inevitably have dropped points, but would it have been enough for us to catch them. I would rather focus on the stockpiling of certain players with similar skills or lack of. Not having a striker in reserve cost us a longer run in the F.A Cup and probably another six points. Perhaps during the final run the only plyers we really missed were Gabriel M. and Jesus. Harvetz wouldn’t have mattered. Against P.S.G for example a fit Jesus would at least have asked questions to pressure their defense, perhaps earned free kicks within goal range or even a penalty. It’s only conjecture. But the biggest what if,is the one asking why Arteta and Edu got it so wrong in the players they decided to invest in.( or not?)