In football, no one is protected from injuries, and players of all clubs experience them. Sometimes, teams are simply haunted by misfortunes, and team footballers are lost due to the most ordinary accidents. There are players who, no matter where they play, still cannot stay healthy. In other cases, teams themselves exhaust footballers at some point during the season, which affects the overall health of the players. However, there is a team that seems to constantly suffer from injuries. That team is the London "Arsenal" team, which currently cannot even help ten injured players. Why do players in this team get injured more often than in other clubs? In "Arsenal," players' injuries can be divided into several categories.
Players who could not stay healthy in other teams. Mikel Arteta, Danny Welbeck, and Tomas Rosicky were known for their injury problems even before they arrived at the "Arsenal" club. Rosicky had already experienced several minor injuries per season while playing for Dortmund, and in early 2008, while already playing in London, knee problems took him out of the lineup for over a year. As a player ages, his physical condition certainly does not improve, and in a short time, a 35-year-old player will have to come to terms with that and end his career.
Arteta's situation is similar. As a midfielder who played for the "Everton" club, he was the player who often needed medical assistance. As his career neared its end, the number of injuries only increased, and it is doubtful that in any other team Arteta could play for a longer period without injuries.
Welbeck had knee problems 15 times during his career and missed training sessions or matches because of them, so the player's current knee operation should not be very surprising. The striker's problems began when he played at the "Manchester United" club, making it difficult to blame the "Arsenal" team for his current knee problems.
Players who often suffer serious injuries. Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, and Jack Wilshere have only played a couple of seasons without major injuries in their careers. These players came to the "Arsenal" team at a very young age, so it is difficult to say whether these players suffer injuries due to club decisions or their own health problems.
Injuries due to low rotation and player fatigue. The most noticeable player in this category is Alexis Sanchez. Despite being visibly tired for some time, the player played at least 80 minutes in all matches in the Premier League and Champions League since October. Moreover, in these two months, the forward traveled to North America twice and played two matches a week without substitutions. Although Arsene Wenger might blame the player's fatigue on representing the Chilean national team, it is hard to understand why a tired player played 90 minutes even in the match against Bayern where everything was clear after the first half.
Other two players who recently suffered serious injuries - Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin - although not so obvious, could also have been injured due to excessive workload. Cazorla did not play the second half against the "Tottenham" club this season, and in other matches, he was on the field for at least 79 minutes, while Coquelin has been out of the games lately due to injury.
Training workload or medical staff problems. This category mainly includes minor injuries. Since 2013, Laurent Koscielny has suffered 17 injuries, many of which were similar injuries that occurred shortly after the previous injury. Defender sustained a concussion just before the "Norwich" game, yet suffered the same injury less than a month after rehab. While playing in France before that, the player managed to stay healthy and did not have such problems.
Last year, Kieran Gibbs suffered three hip injuries in a month, and due to the repetition of similar minor injuries, there are doubts about whether players are returned to training too early and not fully recovered. It is clear that there are significantly too many minor injuries at the "Arsenal" club.
Bad decisions by Arsene Wenger. Santi Cazorla announced in the second half of the last game that he was injured, yet the team's coach decided not to substitute the Spaniard. The injury worsened during a significant part of the match, and now he will have to miss three months. This was certainly not the best decision in Wenger's career, which raises doubts as to whether the strategist has acted similarly in other situations.
Unlucky black outfit? In three matches, when "Arsenal" played in black outfits, they did not win a single game, played one draw, lost twice, and the club's players suffered five injuries. Perhaps Arsene Wenger's wards should simply avoid playing in black-colored jerseys?
However, ten injured players at once are a lot even by "Arsenal" standards. With players dropping out of the lineup at such a pace, it is difficult not only to fight for the Premier League title but also to achieve good results in general. Arsene Wenger and his staff have been facing injury problems for years, and they still cannot avoid them. Perhaps the "Swansea" team's consultations would be useful for the "Arsenal" club - this team experienced as many injuries throughout the preparation period and this season as the "Arsenal" club did just during October or November.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
