Injuries contextualised by Jonbo
I wrote an article here recently about key injuries having a significant impact on Arsenal missing out on the top 4. I prefixed that article with my acknowledgment that decisionss made in January also played their part. It was not injuries alone that cost us, but in my opinion, they were central to our struggles.
What surprised me in the comments was that some said that key injuries were an unacceptable excuse, across the board! In fact, many claimed they had ZERO impact on results, performances, and tactics.
Not only is that train of thought completely illogical (in all walks of life), that would also apply to transfers as well then. If Tavares coming in for Tierney for an extended period of time has absolutely no impact on the team, then the same would apply to any transfer, would it not? Why sign Haaland when we have Nketiah? If there is no link between a player’s ability and the capacity for the team to achieve better results, then why sign supposedly better players?
With this article I want to contextualise injuries, and debunk this theory amongst some that key injuries are irrelevant. Arsenal have had so many seasons derailed from injuries, that I wonder how any Arsenal fan could even think they wouldn’t matter?
And it’s not just the odd key injuries that can affect a team, it’s the quantity as well. Look at Leeds and Everton this season. Two teams that shouldn’t have been in a relegation battle, yet both almost went down, and why? Both clubs had a huge amount of injuries. That was the common denominator.
To add context to any injured player, we have to break down the effect off a key player’s (key player = starting XI/world class) absence on a team, into multiple sub-categories:
1 – Length of injury
2 – Timing of injury
3 – Ability of injured player and the ability of their replacement
4 – Effect on tactics
5 – Amount of injuries
1 – Length of injury
Now if a player is out for a couple of games, then there isn’t a lot to worry about, especially if those two games happen to be against weak opposition. However, any medium/long-term injury does cause problems. A manager now has to find a proper solution.
2 – Timing of injury
Timing is a key factor for a manager to find this solution. The worst time for injuries to occur is after the January transfer window because you can only work with what you have available at that point for the last half of the season. Any injury right before kick-off, or during a game, is also very difficult for a manager because they have to come up with a solution on the spot. The team also has no preparation for any possible change in tactics if needed.
3 – Ability of injured player and the ability of their replacement
This is arguably the most important element. For the vast majority of teams, not having a quality replacement can be detrimental, especially when dealing with multiple key injuries at the same time. Other teams can absorb many key injuries, because of the quality of their overall squad. E.g., KDB is the best midfielder in the world, but City have so many quality options in midfield, that his absence would not have much of an effect. Liverpool is another team that would need a lot of key injuries before it really started to affect them, which is what actually happened to them last season, for those with short memories. With most other clubs, there can be a big drop off in quality when a key player is missing.
Not only is Partey our only world class player, but he would walk into ANY midfield, he’s that good. The drop off in quality with his replacements like Elneny/Lokonga, is huge! Even worse when comparing Tierney and Tavares. Naturally, that then has a negative effect on the team’s ability to achieve their desired results. If we had someone like Lokonga missing for half a season, it wouldn’t have mattered as he was rarely used, and was poor most of the time when playing anyway. No negative effect on the team at all with his absence.
4 – Effect on tactics
As stated earlier, injuries pre-game/during a game are the toughest as an effective plan is needed on the spot. Any injury, but usually multiple injuries, can affect how a team plays. E.g., If your team only plays Burnley style football of lumping it forward and hoping for the best, and you suddenly lose all your big target men, and a small forward is your only available option, then a change in tactics is now needed. Obviously, it’s down to the manager to find a solution, but it can still take a while for everyone to adapt to a new system.
For Arsenal, our full backs play a vital role in our system, as does the DM role, occupied by Partey. Losing all at the same time, made life so much harder for the team. It’s also no surprise that our CB’s form dropped off. They had lost that calming, quality influence in front of them with no Partey, and were also a lot more exposed down the sides with the loss of Tierney and Tomiyasu, who are both great defenders.
5 – Amount of injuries
Even weaker teams can sometimes cope with the odd key injury here and there, but when you have multiple injuries at the same time, it often becomes too much. As we saw with Leeds and Everton this season, and even a great team like Liverpool last season.
As I stated in my previous article on injuries, there are many other factors that affect poor results. Tactics, transfer decisions, and sending offs being some of the main other ones, but I do find it interesting that those who criticise Arteta on the basis of tactics, and transfer decisions, do not accept how injuries and sending offs can also play a huge role in the outcome of results.
Whilst all of these above factors are subjective, the most subjective of them all has to be the January transfer window. Which ironically is being used the most against Arteta. At least with losing quality players, specifically those who have, and still are a success at the club, we can say with a high degree of certainty that those injuries affected outcomes. Because we are basing our opinions on the fact we’ve already seen the importance of said player in our team. Based on our knowledge, experience and history of the January transfer window, we know it’s very tough to sign quality players mid-season. Especially if you’re looking for an upgrade. Even if we had signed someone, we have no idea if they would have been a success or not.
So, if one is comparing a quality injured player, who’s already proven their importance to the team, against mid-season signing who’s never played for your club before, or maybe not even in England – it’s far more speculative to suggest that the lack of January signings outweighed the injuries, in relation to the outcomes of our fixtures.
As I’ve said many times, Arteta has made mistakes, but injuries badly cost us more than anything. And a question I have posed many times, which almost never gets answered is:
Would Spurs have still finished above us if Kane, Son, or both had missed a couple months after the January window had closed?
Who would have got the goals and assists in the league at the rate that Kane and Son did? Who would cause havoc in general like those two do, even when not scoring or assisting?
Bergwijn? 3 goals and 1 assist. Moura? 2 goals 6 assists. Kulusevski is the only other forward with good stats at Spurs, but he is a winger/wide-forward. I cannot think of anyone at Spurs to replace Kane as the target man.
In regard to putting any blame on Arteta in relation to the injuries, I would say he made a mistake with Tavares. We all knew the issues with Tierney coming into the season, and a decent, experienced LB (especially with experience of playing in England), would have been a far better option than an inexperienced signing from a weaker league.
Jonbo
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No-one is saying they didn’t have an effect.
Injuries happen every year to every team, especially Arsenal over the last 2 decades. So it’s a common problem for us and well know to fans around the globe.
“Why didn’t our manager foresee this happening?” That’s the question
Last year Liverpool finished 3rd with 69 point largely because of van Dykes injury. You can do all the foreseeing that you want but cannot adequately replace some players. Tierny especially Partey are 2 of these players at AFC
Solid example there Mark, using the worlds best CB and possibly best player’s(that’s impossible to replace) absence and comparing it to ours
Can’t argue with that logic lol
Partey and Tierney are replaceable. Didn’t he buy Lokonga as back-up???? Ifhe wants to build a youth team then he must face the music when we don’t have sufficient cover. I was shocked when Tierney got injured….never saw that coming.
Mental gymnastics.?? nice..
PJ
This guy is just an attention seeker.. Ignore him
What would your solution have been? We should’ve bought more?
It’s not always as simple as that. We already spent alot of money to strenghten key positions. That was more important than the covers for Partey and Tierney. As Arteta explained also, we had a bloated squad and they worked on that in Jan. I know it’s easy for us fans to just say “spend more”, but money isn’t ininite at our club and they also need to protect the club in the long term by not having too high annual wages.
We are in a rebuid and a rebuild takes time if you don’t have Sheikh money
We bought a back-up for Partey and Tierney in Lokonga and Tavares….so not sure what you are going on about?
Just as I mentioned in my commen below. Both are young and are bought for the future. It was never the plan for them to play as much as they did, like Lokonga’s brother even admitted recently. We need better cover for Partey, Tierney and Tomi as they seem injury prone, but not everthing can be done in 1 window and people need to get realistic about that
You’ve really got time to chit-chat with some toshsters who just don’t know how to read the writing on the wall,i’ll suggest you give them their best answer which is SILENCE.
@Mr Lucky
If both players were bought for the future, then why didn’t Arteta send them out on loan or shift them to the under 23s, as he did Saliba? By him keeping them in the squad, it signaled his trust in their abilities to step in as back ups…IJS
Perfect retort, that was going to be my comment. He felt Saliba wasn’t ready, so he sent him on loan.
Arteta believed Lokonga and Tavares were ready, so they stayed to play a part. Yet the excusers say otherwise, and try to have it both ways.
“They weren’t ready, or adequate backups,” yet Arteta believed they were. Everybody gets it wrong sometimes, but not all of them admit it.
Because that would leave us with no one at all. Of course Arteta must have trusted them to a certain point, but he also didn’t have any other options. We had Holding so keeping Saliba wasn’t as necessary as to keeping Tavares. As for Lokonga, I don’t know exactly because we had Elneny. Maybe Arteta trusted him more and saw that he made a mistake.
I know both Tierney and Partey are injury prone, but I don’t think anyone expected them to miss 16 and 15 games
Agreed, so what did they do in the last window to address any of the situations?
There’s no way we can get top quality players in the winter window mid-way into the season or do you want us to sign just anybody to come join us all in the name of squad beef up.what’s difficult to understand in that.
Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham all got quality players in the same window that it was impossible to sign quality players, Arteta have affected most people sense of reasoning how can someone say it’s impossible to see a quality player to improve this arsenal squad that you can hardly single out a single world class player is rediculous
Those you mentioned only took advantage of the players’ contract situation and willingness to join which we also attempted to but they turned us down for another club as vlahovic and guimaraes did.
guimaraes was never approached by arsenal, and who told you players can not turn you down in the summer. So because vlahovic turned arsenal down then they should fold their hands and say we tried, even this summer players will turn us down and when that happens they shouldn’t bring anyone else in.
And what if Mikel’s targets or clubs did not want to move in Jan? What if his targets wanted to move elsewhere ? Can we have 2 world class players on mega wages one playing and the other benched? Would not this cause resentment? We already had issues in the dressing room which Mikel resolved
them painstakingly . Mikel is not foolish like that old fella to waste the clubs money to play mega wages to undeserving players.
Now that the season is over can these folks get off Mikel? Why are they so obsessed ?
I bet you Mikel have wasted more money than those fellas you are referring to if you’re been honest with yourself.
Arteta choose youths because he can’t work with world class players who mostly have ego
Let us look at who were behind Partey and Tierney at the beginning of the season and see what happened to them. Behind Partey we have Torreria, Matteo, Niles, Mo, and Chambers who can play in that position. Tierney has behind him Kolasinac, Mari and Niles who can also play in that position. So Matteo, Torreria were loaned out and Sami was brought as DM/CM while Tavarez was brought in at left back position as well. Both Tavarez and Sami were playing fine until liverpool game where Tavarez became a shadow of who he was because be played too defensively(imo). Shortly after that Partey and Tierney came back from injury and that was the end of Tavarez and Sami. I think both played like 2/3or more but never in epl games before Partey and Tierney got injured again. Arteta also not rotated his team enough eventhough we still have Mo, Kola, Niles, Mari and Chambers in the team. Came January, Kola and Chambers were given away as a Boxing Day present to Villa and OM and Niles was loaned out to Roma and Mari to Udinese. In my opinion, our coach did this because he believed he has a capable back up in both Tavarez and Sambi. Why the h*** will someone say they are for the future and blame injuries has an effect on how our season ended when we created that situations ourselves. Partey came directly from afcon into the team if Arteta believes Sami is not ready why loaned out Niles. We all witness what happened last season and we all hope next season will be better because we all support this great club first before any coach or player.
Do you realise these are footballers, so if these players were to be yours as an agent, you will advice them to stick to the bench and get how many minutes of action? In a roburst squad?
*Adiva
Some fans though
Why did take after 6months for the agent of Mari, Niles, Kolasinac and Chambers to advise them to look for new club. And with all those players Arteta stick to 14 players majorly. My point is we have many players for the manager to rotate and mitigate injuries but he didn’t. It was not as if we didn’t pay them for those they didn’t feature at all. Some of them did even make the bench.
And why is Leno not given away too, or didn’t he have an agent same goes with Eneny
Didn’t even bother reading the whole article. Last 9 games we won 4 and lost 5 with the same squad and same injuries. The team that beat Chelsea and Man Utd impressively is the same team that lost embarrassingly to Brighton and Southampton.
It’s tactics and failure of the manager to motivate his players.
Same mate
Thirdman – jonbo still hasn’t got over Wenger so will push any old excuse to try to excuse Arteta from his massive failings.
And that is why I don’t take jonbo opinion seriously because the sole purpose is to defend Arteta. I don’t know why he has to. Now he is clinging to the injuries excuse even with less sense it makes because he knows no one buys the deadwood excuse anymore. He doesn’t buy it himself either now.
@HH
I find it interesting how you can have an opinion on someone’s article, without reading it all, by your own admission.
Without realising it, all you’ve done is prove that you must have an agenda against either myself, or Arteta, or both of us.
Would enjoy a debate with you, but how can anyone take you seriously with your predetermined thoughts?
That’s like saying how can we take you serious when you have come back on here pretending to be someone different .
Again, there are so many crazies these days treated like they are normal, I guess you’re one of them.
Words, especially online, do not harm me, so go nuts if it makes you happy!
Clearly you prefer trolling, than engaging in intelligent conversation.
Last 10 games won 5 against better sides and lost 5 against lesser sides with your injured players missing.
A team that is plagued by injuries find it easier to win and win impressively at that against Chelsea, Man Utd and West Ham, teams with better managers and players than us and somehow manage to lose against bottom half teams.
Where were your injuries then when we were winning against better teams?
@Dan kit
I have said it before, I am not that person, but if you want to believe I am, as men believe they can be women, then go ahead! I cannot stop your craziness!
And I got over Wenger around 2010, when he was more than finished by that point. And guess what? I was proven right!! Downside was that the club took another 8 years to realise it!
Lol
Exactly win one of those game or draw 3 and we would be in a very different position heading into the summer. Why not guarntee UCL return and invest in a goal scorer in Jan when you gave our main one away to Barca for nothing, nit even an exchange with a player, nothing.
Partey was away why not go buy an rock of a DM and let Elneny, AMN, Lucas, Matteo & Possibly Xhaka all go in the summer & kowing so. We would have 2 players already here for the outgoing players coming next week.
Recruitment in January cost us plus we only earned a point In that month so the alarm bells had to be going off.
We did this to ourselves now we are keeping Eddie, Elneny, Xhaka and Lucas has returned but never fear we see getting Jesus to take us to the next level as our Marquee signing. Got a feeling we are all going to be disappointed come August.
@HH
Spot on…💯
Bar tierney and partey who were the other key players out injured that affected our season so badly?
Tomi
That’s why we need players who can challenge them. We can’t rely on injury-prone players, no matter how good they are
I agree with you 100% Gai👌
Like I said before who Edu and Arteta buys this new window will show their ambition for next season. Keep same old players and Arsenal maynot even make Top6 next season. To show ambition the team needs minimum of 4 quality players. apart the new keeper and Maquinhos meant for the future.. 2 full backs 1 Midfielder and 1 prime CF if the club is aiming for top4. But if the aim is Top6 they can buy 2 quality players and pick from the academy.
I bet they will promote many academy graduates Sylva, to save money. If we can sell two players with good prices, I think we’d have enough budget to sign four new players
Most likely Edu and the board would like to save money. I think Arteta wants to strengthen based on the interview he had with media. Picking majorly from academy wont get Arsenal top4 because many of the young guns don’t have EPL experience. Next season will be tougher because other teams will add quality.
GAI & val
As it’s been pointed out further up how did we beat Chelsea West Ham and Man Utd without our injury prone players?
And the only way to improve the team is to sign players who are better than what we have.
Look at villa there not messing about this window are they
Yes, we also need to improve our wing attack with better wingers
Just as an example, look at our lineup for the first game of the season. We played with Chambers, Mari, Lokonga, Pepe and Balogun. We were without Tomi, Gabriel, Partey, Odegaard, Saka and Laca/Auba/Nketiah. Second game against Chelsea we were missing a lot too and against City in our third game we were missing Partey, Gabriel, White and Tomi. Those are crucial players that were missing in the first 3 games of the season
I think injuries definitely played a big part, but the biggest problem was the quality of the bench. As you mention, going from Tavares to Tierney, from Partey to Elneny/Lokonga, Tomi to Cedric, White/Gabriel to Holding is a huge downgrade.
People will say that’s the fault of Edu/Arteta, but that’s too simple. We already spent a huge amound last summer and we were on huge wages. They are fixing the balace of the team by getting rid of the overpaid players we have. I think Laca and Pepe are the only ones left who are paid too much for what they bring, and I strongly believe both will be gone after the summer. That would leave our club in a much better financial situation.
We gambled by bringing in Lokonga and Tavares as covers, but both are for the future and it was never the plan for them to play as much as they did. But unfortunately injuries forced Arteta.
By getting Saliba back, we will have 3 quality CB’s and by adding Tielemans we would have 3 quality CM’s (even though I still hope we will upgrade Xhaka). By extending Nketiah it would mean we would need 1 more quality striker up front. I think we need to have a quality winger as well. My choice would always be Gnabry if it’s possible. That would give us 3 options for 2 positons and would mean that we can rotate and will not see Saka as burnt-out as we’ve seen him at the end of the season.
The only 2 other position then that would need strengthening, are the fullback back-ups. As they are both injured quite often it seems, both need to be able to step in immediately, not just players for the future. I would get Tagliafico for the leftback position. He is of the right age and brings a mentality that we’ve been missing. And also important, he is reported to be available for only € 4m. As for rightback cover, I would keep AMN for 1 more year to save money for the other areas. I think AMN is a step-up from Cedric and there is no one available for the money you could get for him. Get good cover next year.
@MrLucky
I agree with so much of what you said.
And like you say, yes we need better quality in reserve, and a bit more for the starting XI, but people forget how much squad turnover we’ve managed to achieve in a fairly short period of time. Especially when you consider it was almost impossible to get rid of the vast majority of them given their huge wages, and average ability.
I think it was a combination of all.. Arteta’s tactics, Injuries, lack of overall quality in the squad.. Etc.
Even Arteta’s lack of proper experience etc..
Yes! Top quality players on the bench for options and to provide adequate top quality cover throughout the course of the season campaign, is an unavoidable necessary for Arteta to have in his Arsenal team for next season’s campaign. If his Arsenal team is to truly challenge for title wins next season and win them.
Most especially the EPL title win next season which shouldn’t be the exclusive of only Man City and Liverpool to now be competing for it’s win every season.
But Arsenal can join the fray next season to re-start competing for the EPL title win and win if. But if Arteta has top quality players on the bench to be choosing from for adequate top quality option and cover when needed.
But which of the Gunners in the current Arsenal first team that finished last season in 5th place is or are not of the top quality kind? Bar Lacazette whose has regressed it top goals scoring form, I think they are all of the top quality kind of players. But due to most of them are at young age, and did over playe last season. Consequently, fatigue set-in in them restricting their top form in their game playing during the last Arsenal run-in matches. Which subsequently saw most of them burnt-out and were using advance energy to sustain themselves to cope. But which saw Arsenal miserably fell to Crystal Palace (A), Brighton (H), Southampton (A), Tottenham Hs (A) & Newcastle (A). Those are 15 point matches that Arsenal lost. But they needed 3 to clinch the top4 place finish last season.
One other factor which I think contributed to Arsenal loss of the top4 to Spurs was Arteta hardly rotates his players in the EPL matches. At least he ought to be doing a Gunners team rotation occasionally in the EPL last season against the lower league clubs to give game time to some Gunners like Pepe and others to start.
So that they will be in top form and ready to play uptmumly when called upon to start or come on off the bench. This I think Arteta should make adjustment to it to improved on his team rotation in the EPL next season.
Even Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are seen occasionally doing players rotation of their team adequately in the EPL matches to always keep them in top shape of form.
In fact, Nkethiam Holding and ElNeny tried a lot for Arsenal during the last run-in matches. As they were often not played until the run-in when injuries to some 3 key game starting Gunners forced Arteta’s hand to start playing them to start.
For Arsenal to successfully challenge for the EPL title win, and in addition to it. To also win the Europa League Cup. Or better still win the quadruple all nest season.
It has been and it’s still being suggested in some Gooners circle that Arsenal will need to sign 4 new players of world class kinds this summer. And use them to do an upgrade to some weak areas in the team so as to strengthen these areas.
But in my own view, I say Arsenal need 3 new players signings but not 4 this summer. And who should be world class in their game playing abilities.
If Arteta keeps Saliba in his team for next season’s summer campaign, to me the club don’t need to do a new centreback signing this summer. In the full-backs area, I think they are covered as Tomiyasu and Cedric, Tierney and Taveres will be manning the full-back positions in the team adequately during the summer campaign. And the club could promote to their senior team squad this summer a proven top quality full-back from their Hale End U23 team to increase the numbers to 9 defenders in their defense.
In the midfield area, and in addition to Partey who is reportedly a world class midfielder. But I will succumb to the opinions of the Gooners who have opined that Arsenal will need to sign a new world class midfielder this summer to bolster their midfield options for next season’s summer campaign. This I am in total agreement with.
In the striker’s department. And in addition to Arsenal keeping Eddy Nkethia, which I strongly concor.
Obviously, Arsenal will need to do 2 new world class striker signings this summer. If they want to truly challenge for the EPL title win next season and win it.
Total waste of another article. Every team has injuries, every player could be classed as key and we had no more injuries this season in particular to other seasons and other teams. The biggest factor was poor management of players and poor management of players in and out, that weakened the squad but that was by design.
Too bad jonbo,einstein already stated that there will come a time technology will surpass human interraction and a there’ll come a generation full of idiots……..typical example going on here.
Obviously I cannot dissent from a single word that the realist Jonbo writes.
My only worry is not with what he writes, as it is sensible and correct. It is that he NEEDS to write such a blindingly obvious piece at all.
He would not need to, IF ONLY there were not the fools around which he refers to(albeit without actually using the word “fools”). His is a wise and thinking piece. SHAME THAT SO MANY ON HERE ARE SIMPLY UNABLE TO REALLY THINK AT ALL.
I agree with many of Jonbo’s arguments but as I have always said on a number of occasions it is pointless to talk sense to someone who doesn’t appreciate it! Some people have their entrenched positions and they will never cede any ground to logic. This is the unfortunate bit about some of our fans. They be deliberately refuse to see sense even when it is very clear. There is no team anywhere which can cope with three concurrent long term injuries to key players. Even Man city would struggle in such situations. I honestly believe that if we didn’t get those serious injuries to Tierney, Partey and Tomiyasu we would have finished on over 75 points and would have been in third position. Of course this is now of little practical purpose.
Little dip in quality and performance drop.
David I firmly agree with the thrust of your post and esp with the first sentence which is profoundly, albeit depressingly, true. I actually sincerely believe that our club would be better off without those constant anti MA brigade and I have given up taking these entrenched agenda riven so called fans on, as its pointless , just as you say. There are none so blind as those who wilfully refuse to see and none so deatf as those who refuise to listen. The majority of Gooners can clearly see the progress our club is making and we have a degree ot patience while it continues itsstill far to go journey. PATIENCE IS NOT SOMETHING THAT AGENDA FOLK HAVE , SADLY.
In context though, it is fair to say that any club suffering the injuries we have had to KEY players, though not much to our lesser players, would struggle very badly. Best example of that is Liverpool last season and how badly it affected them, but not this season when mostly their key players stayed fit.
Some of the agenda riven brigade seem to fondly imagine( or fool themselves ) that MA has suffiecent money available from Kroenke to get top class ready replacements for such as Tierney, Partey, Tomi, etc.
Obviously, he does not have the luxury of such available funds but that does not stop the anti MA brigade saying he ought, somehow, to magic up proper replacements!
Lunacy but no surprise given their wilful blindness and deafness.
Yes injuries effect ‘stuff’ we get it!;)
However, all clubs have injuries so it is the custodians of the club responsibility in conjunction with manager and supporting staff and employees to identify other players offering some semblance of strength in depth so that when injuries inevitably occur that there is not a huge dip in quality.
Some will say but ‘we haven’t got a sheik to spend billions upon billions on squad players’ (we do have a cowboy)..
Seville are the perfect example of what I’m trying to get at here..a squad of players within a system of play (boring as fook but that’s besides my point;) who can have players come on and perform within the system without too much at the detriment of quality.
That said
the Arsenal injury ‘curse’ is real!;)
Tierney who had a problematic and overly extended hip injury at Celtic before joining us has missed a fair few matches due to injury and seeing as he is a top player and MA is much dependent on him, his body naturally gives way..
HTeeTeePeeS://www.google.com/amp/s/dailycannon.com/2021/04/83-games-missed-is-kieran-tierney-injury-prone/amp/?espv=1
But Tavares is no replacement imo. Going forward his great but I would not trust him to pass a ball sideways when he is in his own half defending.
Partey since joining us has been mainly ‘crocked’
http://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/uk-premier-league/2021/02/parteys-shocking-injury-record-since-e50m-arsenal-move/amp?espv=1
I hate excuses, and using injuries is one such excuse..But again this seems to be the result of years of an excuse mentality permeating our great club.
Little dip in quality and performance drop off.
Btw the Arsenal ‘curse’ (or maybe ongoing training/recovery/treatment issues) is real with both tierney and partey being crocked since they joined. Partey was a beast at Seville missing a handful of games over three seasons with them.
Tierney was bought after recovering from a hip injury that lasted much longer than estimated which maybe should have rang some bells.
AOT
believe KT was injured on international duty.
Who can legislate for that!
We cannot make excuses becuase of injuries
We ended up where we ended up because the squad was not good enough or the squad was good enough
Depend how you want to look at it.
Hopefully some of the first 11 will drop back in too becoming a squad member as we bring in new players but do they become disruptive and start to poison the well becausethey feel they shouldbe a starter, which will mean we need to get rid of them and replace with a better first starter or squad player and so the cycle starts again.
In a nut we need the right players to come in that fit in to the squad and bad apples out.
Happy that we are finally giving a chance to younger players to fill the gaps and they will only.get better and stronger.
Either that or they will get bored of mediocrity and go place somewhere else where they have a chance to pepper their careers with trophies.
Let’s hope it’s at Arsenal
Although the summer transfer window has not open until the 10th of June when it will open.
But some EPL club sides like Aston Villa and Leeds Utd have already ,made moves in the transfer market to do some signings this summer.
On the part of Arsenal, with their haven already delt with ElNeny’s contract to extend it. But I think they are delaying making any moves in the transfer market this summer to sign any new players until after they have delt with the issues concerning the contract extensions of some Gunners at the club. Such as Nkethia, Saka, Martinelli and Gabriel. Nkethia whose contract has rundown this summer. And the latter trio who have 2 years left to go on their contract deals with the club.
Injuries are inevitable that’s why we need quality squad depth.
Man city have 2 quality players in almost every position.
ST – Jesus – X
LW – Sterling – Grealish
AM – De Bruyne – Silva
RW – Mahrez – Foden
CM – Gundogan – X
DM – Rodri – Fernandinho
LB – Mendy* – Zinchenko
LCD – Laporte – Ake
RCD – Dias – Stones
RB – Walker – Cancelo
GK – Ederson – Scott
ST – Lacazette – Nketiah
LW – Martinelli – Smith
AM – Odegaard – ?
RW – Saka – Pepe
CM – Xhaka – Lokonga
DM – Partey – Elneny
LB – Tierney – Tavares
LCD – Gabriel – ?
RCD – White – Holding
RB – Tomiyasu – Cedric
GK – Ramsdale – Leno
The quality of our second team players is poor
S.j
Not sure why you are trying to highlight the disparities between our squad and city squad.
We are 100s of millions away from them and we will never have the resources to catch them
With PSG and bow.maybe Newcastle They are all one off …
Pool are the team I hate to admit I admire the most. Good recruitment
They pay top dollar for big players but they fit seamlessly in to the squad
Everyone was saying how wonderful Elneny and Cedric were while we were winning, but now they are scapegoats unable to cover for the injured players. Partey and Tierney have been unreliable crocks for some time now, besides injury the latter had not been having a great season. Obviously much better than Tavares however he often didn’t look like a happy camper and more like someone who was being restrained in how far forward who was being allowed to go. Not to mention those crosses into no man’s land. It’s silly theorising blaming injuries for poor seasons. Arsenal have seen much worse. And Jon Fox bursting into life like someone who’s been given an oxygen revival,just to support a half baked excuse. Chill!!! You are smarter than that old son.