Arsenal lead Premier League in unwanted statistic, internal issue could end title hopes
Arsenal have suffered more injuries than any other Premier League team since the start of last season.
Ben White is expected to miss at least a month with a hamstring issue, after he was forced off against Wolves on Saturday.
The 28-year-old has joined several Gunners on the injury table, with absences particularly in defence threatening to unravel title hopes.
Cristhian Mosquera suffered an ankle issue against Brentford, with Gabriel also out with a muscle injury picked up on international duty.
Arsenal are set for a difficult run of games over the Christmas period, with their latest injury crisis coming at the worst possible time.
Arsenal record extraordinary number of injuries
William Saliba has suffered from several injury issues this season, but the Frenchman returned to action against Wolves on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta would have been hesitant to throw the defender straight back into the starting line-up, but the Spaniard had little other option.
| Arsenal absences | Expected return |
| Ben White | January |
| Cristhian Mosquera | January |
| Gabriel | January |
| Max Dowman | February |
| Kai Havertz | December |
Absences have left Arsenal with just five available defenders to cover four positions over the next few weeks, with two of them having suffered injury issues of their own this season.
Several players have returned in the attacking areas of the pitch, thankfully.
The Gunners are still without Kai Havertz, but Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard are all once again available.
Arteta will be concerned about his defence, however, the Spaniard having started Christian Norgaard at centre-back against Club Brugge last week in a desperate attempt for some rotation.
According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have now reached 100 different injuries since the start of last season – more than any other Premier League team.
Knee and hamstring injuries are the most common among the 100, with the two problems resulting in a collective 1126 days spent out of action among Arsenal players.
Arsenal must address injury issues
There are many explanations for Arsenal’s injury woes. Packed scheduling, intense games, and sometimes, just rotten luck.
But there appears to be something more than that to the Gunners’ sheer volume of muscular problems.
Whether that be training that is too intense, tactics that encourage too much distance covered, or an issue within the medical department itself.
It is a problem that, if not dealt with, could well come with serious ramifications for Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League this season.
Arteta is a coach renowned for his ability to find even the smallest edge over his opponents, but this is a facet of the game that the Gunners are seriously lagging behind in.