Wenger slammed for causing Arsenal injury crisis

The first question for Arsenal fans to consider, I suppose, is whether Arsene Wenger has been to blame for all the injury problems that have beset the Gunners in recent years. Many people believe that the number and nature of the injuries means that it simply had to be more than bad luck and as Wenger is the man responsible for almost everything that happens at the club, then he surely has to take at least some of the blame.

The Frenchman did accept that there was a clear problem and brought in a couple of fitness and conditioning experts to deal with it and in the early stages of the season it looked like it was working, but the Capital One Cup game this week saw Theo Walcott and the Ox added to our growing list of crocked players.

That makes eight Arsenal players on the sidelines and no Premier League club has more. As well as having to deal with the team selection problems this causes, the boss is in the firing line from the Dutch football coach Raymond Verheijen, as a Daily Mail report has revealed.

Verheijen has worked with three different national sides at World Cups as well as some of the biggest clubs around Europe, including Barcelona and Man City, so his words do carry some weight. According to him, Wenger´s training methods are outdated and are directly responsible for Arsenal´s injury problems.

He said, “Here we go again! [Aaron] Ramsey, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain out injured again.

“I have lost count. Has this pattern repeated itself five or six seasons already?

“How many times does this have to happen before the world wakes up and stops denying these clear facts? It has been scientifically proven in a 10-year UEFA study. Football coaches are responsible for most injuries.

“The problem with revolutionary coaches is they are only revolutionary once and apply this same approach during an entire career.

“It means after 10 years the coach has become average and after 20 years he’s behind.”

Wenger´s cause is certainly not helped by the revelations that he stopped Walcott´s warm up on Tuesday when sending him on to replace the Ox. However, the Frenchman did appoint those two fitness experts and that shows that he is willing to change his methods and take on new ideas.

Also, Verheijen has form and has criticised a large number of coaches and clubs for their methods and it does appear that he likes getting his comments into print. So what do you make of our latest crisis? Bad luck or bad planning?

Tags ox verheijen Walcott

14 Comments

  1. Keep Calm
    the “JEFF”
    is back.

    he’s highly rated by Wenger, and sure some fans have been wanting to see him perform again…I do too.
    France U17 crashed out last night.
    but anyways i don’t think he’ll be getting his chances soon.

    and enough of the blames and complaints bout injuries, we have an important match tomorrow..focus is the key, we’ll get our players back

  2. I could probably listen to Verheijen if he wouldn’t be too quick to put any other methods down. He’s so full of himself to the point that he looks like a salesman. And in reality 2/3 of them are results of players interacting with opposition players during a a game. Yes, Ramsey and Ox are muscle injuries but these players will be out for two weeks as per medical staff. And how can he prove these are related to training methods when this guy was never around Arsenal camp in years if ever.
    The cherry on top is the fact that he tips Rodgers as a great manager. Tells you a lot. However, here’s what I wrote earlier, thought I would put this one here as well.

    I can understand Walcott and Ox being fragile. Honestly I nevere thought Walcott will be so crucial for Arsenal this season in the middle. What I don’t understand, still asking myself, why Wenger called Ox in the 1st eleven for the game against Sheffs. Does anyone have seen at the end of the game with Everton Ox checking his hamstring and limping a bit or it was just me?
    I really don’t get it unless Ox expressed his desire to play (there was even an article here calling this as a last chance for Ox to which I said that he does not have to). But when you are a pro, you know that if you don’t feel right then you don’t risk it. I think Wenger made a mistake by listening to the player instead of the physio. I also think that in general Wenger listens to the players more than he does to the staff but this is just my opinion and it can be totally wrong. Secondly, I have thrown my bottle in disgust when I have seen Walcott being picked to play. WHY? Just why? Wenger said C1C is just a competition used to foster new talents. Nothing more. Why then? In my opinion if we don’t buckle up from here and if we won’t clean the rust off Debuchy, Gibbs, Flamini or Arteta when he’s fit then we are in big $hit. So far the tactics for not changing the squad in the summer worked but the lack of rotation where possible is the reason we are biting our nails now.
    I want three points at Swansea but we have such a poor record against them that I will probably be happy only with a draw and no injuries. I just want the interlul to resume so that our players get some rest because if we can lose the game against Bayern we can’t afford to lose against Spuds.

    1. One more thing. We all agree that Arsenal is a world top 10 club. A great club, the best there is if you ask me. Don’t you think is a bit stupid to blame these injuries on training methods? A great club will change these INSTANTLY and go without injuries the whole season. Look at the squad and look to see who’s injured. British players coincidentally lightweight players. I am not sure there is a reason for it but before the invention of Coquelin the injuries were far more often because there was no hard enforcer in the middle.

  3. This guy likes to hate on Wenger and English clubs in general, he called Moyes a dinosaur but kept quiet ever since Van Gaal took over. Ramsey and Walcott’s injury are common, EVERY player suffers a muscle tear some point in the season. And the ACL wasn’t due to Wenger’s tactics other wise might as well blame Simeone for Falcao’s injury. The crisis has been eased ever since we hired the German physician and injuries to Wilshere, Welbeck and Ox aren’t due to eh manager but are actually due to the fact their bodies struggle to adapt to Arsenal’s new style of football. We play a high pressing game that English payers aren’t coached to play from a young age hence why the likes of Ozil and Cazorla don’t struggle as opposed to their English counterparts.

  4. Bad luck a little bit. Bad planning a little bit.

    But we do tend to overlook a players fitness when buying. There is human nature in a each player, not all human beings are the same some are more subject to catch are cd a rend some will always suffer from heartburn. In sports it has to be the same. How many times did you see a Drogba injured? How many times bar that strange broken let our own Giroud has been injured? And now how many times Walcott has been injured?

  5. Wengers own past players have since leaving revisited Ashburton and have been surprised Wenger is still using the same training methods from more than 10 yea ago.

    Parlour and adams said it. Evertons Martinez has questioned Arsenal’s fitness record and methods and now another very well respected coach says the same. His comments ring bells with me.

    Surely there must be some truth in it, or have they all got it in for our manager?

    1. That’s surprising because I have never heard Parlour or Adams saying anything about this. But let’s just say they said it. Who in their own right minds would actually believe what Parlour and Adams have to say? If they were to train with the team we would have seen them in the pictures.
      Martinez will have first to prove he can do the job himself because Everton lack of fitness was punished at home against a very weak Manure.
      As I said before, it is really stupid to believe that the training methods have anything to do with these injuries because all a club has to do is to just fricking change them and go on and win the league without injuries. Like seriously?

      1. Teams with Less injuries are of course only part of a winning team equation. There are obviously many more factors involved.

        You over simplify and over exaggerate to detract from the obvious truth that Wenger has and does have a bearing on Injuries (Walcott the most recent and obvious failing).

        Parlour : hTeeTeeP://www.thebottomcorner.com/2015/01/04/revealed-wenger-hasnt-changed-his-training-tactics-in-ten-years/

        1. No I don’t. I actually answer the exact question about training methods. I think you should watch what Wenger said today about it. This guy clearly have no idea because he never was there. Of course Wenger has a bearing in the injuries, it is called football.
          Oh, and btw, Parlour is talking about training tactic not methods. Thanks for the link though.

  6. The latest crisis is done to bad Wengering! ??

    According to the Fatboy dyslexic dictionary,
    The meaning of Wengering:

    Indenial.
    Failing to comply to the obvious.
    Indecisive.
    Wastes millions on scouts,
    without taking much notice of Feedback.

    Also known as a frog like creature,
    that wears a anorak with a busted zipper,
    Lives under a rock oblivious to its surroundings!

  7. Walcott injury prone, is not a player we can depend on just bcoz of this. Ox too. Are u saying d Wenger old training method is only for Arsenal English players. Let’s focus on our next game instead of wasting time on this story

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