While some Arsenal fans as well as the generally not as sympathetic folk who make up the football media will call any attempt to come up with a reason for Arsenal falling to nine points off the Premier League leaders Chelsea just looking for an excuse, I think we have to look at the latest season full of injury problems and accept that this will have a negative effect on the Gunners or any side for that matter.
Yet again Arsenal have been hit by all manner of injury problems. No club currently has more than the eight players missing that we do and it has been this way pretty much all season. In fact the problems were there before a ball was even kicked and Arsene Wenger had to cope without any of his first choice centre backs on the opening day and it will be almost two years since Danny Welbeck’s long term problems began.
While you can argue that other clubs also have their own problems to deal with, is it really a coincidence that the pace setters Chelsea have been almost injury free so far, or that last season’s surprise winners Leicester City were able to field the same starting line up for almost the whole campaign?
Do you really believe that any club would not miss the likes of Cazorla, Bellerin, Ramsey and two of the best centre backs in Mustafi and Mertesacker? It is not just the players missing either, as a long injury list forces the manager to play the fit players until the fatigue factor starts to kick in and that has appeared to be an issue over the last week, so will Arsenal see yet another title challenge falter because of the maddeningly ever present injury crisis?
Bob.