Arsenal’s Injury Gremlins

After weekends like the one just past, I sometimes reflect on how good a club Arsenal are. It’s so much easier to focus on critiquing what doesn’t work, but it sometimes is a good idea to step back and look at the environment in which the club has worked in.

For the last 4 years, I can’t recall Arsenal ever having a full complement of players because a very good proportion have been frequent flyers into the treatment room at London Colney.

Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo have perhaps been the most recognizable absentees from the first team due to the nature of their recent long term injuries. Even so, they’re having a start stop sort of campaign as their bodies get used to the rigours of a 60 match league and cup campaign. The weekend match against Stoke City was more notable for the fact that Arsenal picked up 4 injuries to Gallas, Eboue, Traore and Rosicky – than the fact that the team got back to winning ways.

It’s eternally frustrating to constantly hear that our players are out injured – in fact, I’d go as far as saying that you always dread injury news after a game. Many have suggested that there must be a reason why Arsenal seem to have a disproportionate amount of injuries compared to other clubs. The fact that injuries also seem to cluster around the same area in the pitch – defenders in the latter stage of last season, 3 left backs this season, 3 out of our 4 recognized strikers, etc., doesn’t knock down the conspiracy theories.

Despite all the injury gremlins that hit us, it’s actually amazing that we remain competitive. Granted, being competitive if you factor in all the injuries over the seasons isn’t good enough for some supporters – but the fact that the team has constantly remained among the elite should not go unacknowledged.

Only recently, Liverpool capitulated because they had more players in their treatment room than on the pitch – and this was a factor constantly touted in the media as if in excuse for their poor performance. Arsenal on the other hand, would normally be expected to just get on with it and produce the expected levels of performance.

There is also the school of thought that perhaps our training and treatment regime is to blame – but it’s not that simplistic. The Belgian club Anderlecht recently fired their entire medical team because of the amount of injuries the team suffered. I wouldn’t go so far – in fact going so far is just outright crazy – but asking the question about how our medical team works to support the players is valid.

Others have pointed to our style of play as one of the reasons we incur injuries at such a frequent rate. The speed of our play, the way our players move, turn and accelerate, and the sheer tension they place on their bodies are pointed as a possible factor.

I’m sure someone more knowledgeable out there will have come up with some scientific explanation – but it doesn’t hide from the fact that injuries do significantly affect us. Should Wenger stock pile players? Maybe – but without a doubt, we have to depend on the players we have in the absence of any suitable reinforcements coming from outside.

Wenger has been cautious in managing expectations for this January’s transfer window – as he looks to go into the market for a relief striker to shore up our resources following Van Persie’s long term injury.

I would suggest that just because Wenger says he’s on the market, it doesn’t mean that he’ll actually find a suitable recruit. I’m one of those who don’t support the purchase of any player simply to appease fans or the media – it has to be the right player and if we don’t find one, I would happily support the decision not to buy. I do want the club to buy a player who will compliment the squad, regardless of their cost (within reason of course) – but I do not support buying so called big name players to pacify anybody.

I sincerely hope that players like Vela, Walcott and Bendtner would use this opportunity to give Wenger a reason not to go out into the market. I’ve always said it’s unreasonable to expect that they will hit the ground running – and they can only get their match sharpness by playing more games. Buying, especially when you don’t find the right sort of player (and even if you did, they may not be available and they may be too expensive) may not necessarily be the right answer.

Perhaps the experiment with our pint sized Russian leading the line will buy Wenger some time to get Bendy, Vela and Eduardo into the mix – while at the same time keeping the option to buy reinforcements open.