Arsenal have always been a team that has struggled with injures, especially under the helm of Arsene Wenger. Some will blame it on his tactics and style of play, as he likes to pass and move quite quickly, leaving players prone to late challenges. Others will claim that our medical staff do not always get the right diagnosis on first instance and don’t put the best recovery plan in place, but as someone who is not trained medical profession, who are they to suggest that!
Below is a full list of the injures that Arsenal currently have in their first team, before the season has even kicked off:
Per Mertesacker – Mertesacker suffered a knee injury during the first week of pre-season and it was deemed so bad that he is expected to miss at least half of the season. It is likely that he will not start full first team training again until Christmas and depending on the state of Arsenal’s defence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he isn’t given the whole of December off, to ensure that he is ready to return to the pitch in the new year. Mertesacker may not have had such a pivotal role in the side this year, with the BFG more likely to have a bench role, however his presence in the squad will be missed.
Gabriel Paulista – Gabriel picked up a pretty nasty injury in last nights final pre-season match against Manchester City, so much so that he had to be taken off by stretcher. The extent of his injury hasn’t been revealed yet, but given the severity of the situation last night, it’s quite possible that we won’t be seeing our Brazilian defender for quite some time! Time for Wenger to dip into the market I think.
Jack Wilshere – normally when it comes to Jack Wilshere we expect to hear that the Englishman is ruled out for the remainder of the season. Although this has been the case in previous years, this time is different (fingers crossed) and the midfielder is expected to only miss the Liverpool game before returning to training. Let’s hope he doesn’t rush back and aggravate the injury like he has done in recent years.
Carl Jenkinson – Jenkinson is a player you may not have expected to see on this list, but the right back is in fact set to stay at the club this season and not only because he is currently injured. Jenkinson tore a Anterior Cruciate Ligament playing for West Ham last season and is not due to return until November. Once he is fit, I’d expect the defender to play backup to Hector Bellerin.
Danny Welbeck – Welbeck is another like Wilshere, who picks up long term injuries that keep him to the treatment table for the majority of the season. Welbeck was actually on decent form last season before he once again picked up a knee injury. The forward was ruled out of the England squad for the Euros and is now not expected to return to first team duties until February 2017.
Whilst the following are not currently injured, we will also be missing the likes of Giroud, Koscielny and Ozil for the opening game against Liverpool, whilst Santi Cazorla’s fitness also remains a talking point. Wishing all these Gunners a speedy recovery!
By AH