Ian Wright agrees on why Arsenal get so many injuries

It was revealed by Martin Keown earlier today that he believed that the hardness of the pitches in Arsenal’s training ground is one of the causes why the Gunners get more injuries than any other side in the Premiership, and now another Arsenal old-boy has come out in support of his view.

Ian Wright says McKeown is not the only one that has noticed the problem. “One of the complaints I have heard is that the training ground is quite hard,” Wright was reported as saying on ArsenalFanTV. “I spoke to Rio (Ferdinand) the other day and he said he had to train there with England and it was noticeable instantly.

“For me, that has got to have something to do with it. We’re in London, close to the top, top surgeons and doctors in the world. With the facilities we have got at the training ground it is worrying how many injuries we get and how long it takes out players to get back. If the training ground is hard and players have said it then they have got to look at that. With the players Arsenal are signing at the moment you want to make sure you can keep them on the pitch as often as you can.”

With England also doing their training at Arsenal’s London Colney facility, the young Gunners that play for England are getting double the exposure to the pitches, so surely it is about time that this was investigated. On racing tracks they have inspectors that walk the racing area and test for whether they believe a pitch is hard, good or soft going. Maybe we should start comparing fooball pitches in the same manner?

Do you think Wrighty and McKeown are on to something now?

Tags Colney Ian Wright McKeown

6 Comments

  1. I wonder why wilshere is d only one that gets injured playing on that pitch. We ve got carzola, Per, and other guys playing on dt pitch and training there too so i doubt this. Also, wilshere’s injury is more of a fracture injury cos of his playing style. Emirates pitch and london colney facilities still d best in London and arguably in england. If english boys gets injured, must we start a useless propaganda?

    1. Do you play professional football man? Do you make a living from playing football? If your answer is ‘no’, don’t you think the guys who have trained at this facility know what they are saying??
      For example, I play basketball (not professionally anyway) and it’s often said that when a player jumps and lands, the way and the quality of the floor are two things that can cause an injury.
      The hardest of a playing surface definitely matters…might not be the direct cause but will t it’s toll with time.

  2. it is so strange if this news is true
    Arsenal pay millions a year to injured players staying on the bed. Why cant they ask a company to make an assessment of all pitches in EPL with regards to the pitch hardness and number of injuries?
    Decision should be made based on such report and proper analysis and not on subjective individual statements

  3. wilshere’s injury is a different scenario, he was over used by AW (at the age of 19-22 years old) which AW have accepted in public. I guess next is A sanchez, he gets played all the matches without any rest and he is the one of the most imp players in the squad. the fighting spirit & never give up attitude he displays, that no other squad members do show, at least not to his level, this gives the team a lot of energy. I hope he stays fit till the end of the league.

  4. Surely the club must have explored this possibility in the last 10 years or so we have been having this injury issues…..not totally disregarding this point of view but you will think a club as big and rich as AFC would have done some investigations on the pitched to discount this as a reason….and meanwhile there is another so called expert always having a pop at the club and Wenger especially as to the cause of all these recurring injuries….periodization, training methods etc are some of the reasons the motor mouth know it all loser is claiming as the reasons…..everyone seems to be an expert and have opinions, its up to the club to get to the root of the problem and whilst I agree its frustrating am sure the club is doing everything within its powers to sort things out…..needs sorting asap

  5. Well, i do play football, not professionally though but still looking for a good professional contract and I have played football almost all my life on hard surfaces and not so good pitches. I know it does affect and i dont think a team as arsenal will not take a good pitch seriously. There was a time Arsenal FC was billed ti come to my country Nigeria for a tour and an exhibition match at our stadium in Abuja, the tour couldnt happen cos Arsene was concerned about the state of the pitch of our National Stadium in Abuja. Marksmen were sent to inspect and try to work on it but didnt have enough time to get it done b4 tym. I was disappointed but happy also cos i rather watch them on TV than see them injured in front of me cos of the playing surface. If Arsene is carefull with this, do u think he wont pay particular attention to Emirates or d training facility? I think these guys are trying to make excuses for Wilshere, thats it. Why didnt they say same for Diaby? Coquelin has played over 30 matches on that pitch, even in blood, he has trained there regularly yet nvr has he been injured once for a lengthy spell. Same can be said of other players. Ozil plays there and we feel he is more fragile. He only got a knee injury last season and has been back since, nvr injured, only rested or sick. Same with giroud. Wilshere got injured last season from a tackle against Man u cos he wouldnt pass the ball, same in training. Lets face it, some players are just injury prone and some have dangerous selfish playing styles. Ramsey was done when he played with wales on artificial turf. So pls, let no one make excuses for wilshere and blame one of the best pitches in the world.

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