For once this latest international break was actually good to Arsenal, in respect of our players all coming back from their travels around the world to play for their countries all in one piece and with no injury problems to speak of. In fact we even had the benefit of Mesut Ozil getting his first run out for some time to help him be ready for the important Premier League clash with Man City this weekend, while Alexis Sanchez performed heroics for Chile while proving that the knock to his ankle which saw him taken off at West Brom is not going to affect him.
Perhaps just as important, though, is the fact that three of our big rivals for the top four Champions League qualifying places did see players pick up injuries with their national teams. As reported by Sky Sports the Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is very unhappy about the timing of the England games after he lost Adam Lallana to a hamstring injury which is likely to last around four weeks.
They also have no Sturridge or Henderson for the big Merseyside derby this weekend and Lallana will also miss matches against Bournemouth, Stoke, West Brom and Crystal Palace. Man United’s squad was also hit during this break, with England defenders Smalling and Jones ruled out through injury and Fellaini a doubt with a toe problem. With a huge fixture list ahead of them United could really pay for these knocks and that can only be good news for the Gunners.
Finally, our chances of beating Man City this weekend may also have been handed a big boost with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne both picking up knocks, so is our luck on the injury front finally changing?
Bob.