Arsenal’s defeat against Aston Villa was made even more painful for Mikel Arteta’s side as they were effectively sealed with the final kick of the game at Villa Park. Manchester City’s subsequent victory over Sunderland only added to the anxiety among fans.
Their lead was cut to two points. As Arsenal well know, Man City have closed a much larger gap. But it’s still a lead. Arsenal have won five of five games so far, and are still falling from the top of the Premier League as well as the Champions League.
Looking at their season more broadly, they won 17 of their 22 games, drew three and lost just two. The loss to in-form Aston Villa came after an 18-game unbeaten run, tied for the longest by any team in Europe’s major leagues this term.
It’s been less than two weeks since Arsenal became the only other side to achieve that unbeaten record with a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium. However, the atmosphere quickly changed as familiar problems began to become serious.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Gary Neville explains why Arsenal shouldn’t panic after defeat to Aston Villa
93 injuries in 18 months
Arsenal, in addition to being first in the Premier League and Champions League standings, find themselves approaching the top of the top three, only in this case it is not the desired position.
So far this season, Leeds are the only Premier League team to have suffered more injuries than Arsenal’s 26. There are currently four players on the absentee list, including three centre-backs William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Cristian Mosquera, and Kai Havertz.
They weren’t the only ones affected.
Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, Victor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Piero Hincapie also face absence, with some having suffered multiple setbacks. Odegaard, for example, has injured his shoulder twice and is just coming back from a knee problem.
A total of 14 players have been injured this season, making up more than half of Arsenal’s squad, but only a handful of senior players have remained fit.
The alarming injury rate is a continuation of last season, with Arsenal losing a number of first-team players, many of them long-term sidelines, and finishing the season second on the injury list, with Brighton the only team with more than 67 injuries.
Combined, Arsenal are one of only two teams, along with Brighton, to have suffered more than 90 injuries over the past two seasons.
Arsenal have suffered 93 injuries since the start of last season.
Inevitably, there will be a flurry of criticism.
The figures have put Arsenal’s medical department under intense scrutiny. However, the complexity of load management and injury prevention makes it difficult to hold them accountable from the outside.
Has Arteta pushed his players too hard? It’s possible. The pattern of hamstring injuries last season suggested that the players in question were overworked. Arteta claimed just last week that those injuries were “out of my control”. Defensively, one could point out that there were no rotation options at key positions last season.
It is also worth noting that the problem is not limited to Arsenal. As competition becomes more intense, hamstring injuries are generally on the rise. My schedule has become even more packed. Bad luck is also involved. Players landing awkwardly, such as Odegaard landing on his shoulder or Mosquera landing on his ankle, are not necessarily indicative of a broader problem.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch highlights from Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa
Arsenal’s advantage this season is that they have much more depth in their squad, having added eight players over the summer for a total of £267m. However, their recent dip in form shows that the strength of their depth is already being tested as injury issues continue.
group injury
It’s not just the number of injuries that pose a problem for Arsenal. They continue to suffer injuries in position clusters as well.
This was most evident up front last season, when Havertz tore his hamstring in February after Jesus was injured again and the workload as the team’s only striker increased.
Kai Havertz has not featured for Arsenal since the start of the season
A similar situation occurred at right-back, as injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and White ensured a tough schedule for Julian Timber, who had to undergo surgery in May for an ankle problem.
Arsenal paid the price last season for not signing up to certain positions, especially up front. However, this season, the issue of collective injuries has resurfaced.
Havertz’s injury at the beginning of the season meant that Gokeres was given a bigger workload than planned. He then injured his groin, and midfielder Mikel Merino was substituted up front, as he was last season.
William Saliba has not featured since the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich.
Merino played his role admirably, having had to start seven games in a row for Arsenal and two for Spain over the past month, and was sent off at half-time in Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa from apparent fatigue.
As for centre-backs, however, the problem is even clearer, with Arsenal at risk of further setbacks after losing Gabriel, Saliba and Mosquera in a matter of weeks, making it impossible to rotate Timber, who had to switch to centre-back, or resting Hincapie, who has returned from a groin problem.
Of course, an injury to a key player is difficult to deal with on its own before considering the ripple effects.
The loss of first-choice centre-backs Gabriel and Saliba has been particularly damaging, with Arsenal having conceded four out of five games since the former was injured while playing for Brazil, compared to just four out of 17 before that.
Arteta’s side were able to beat Spurs and Bayern Munich even without one of their two players in Gabriel, but the uncertainty of both losses was evident at Villa Park, with Timber and Hincapie becoming Arsenal’s sixth different centre-back pairing to start every game in all competitions this season.
Arsenal conceded the equivalent of 2.16 expected goals chances in this match, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of their total this season, highlighting how unusually vulnerable they were.
Need a reset?
It’s no wonder something like this happens at such a busy time of the season. Arsenal faced Spurs and Bayern Munich at home and Chelsea and Aston Villa away in quick succession.
Even if they play to their maximum capacity, it’s going to be a tough game, and it’s clearly putting a strain on them. That’s why it’s important for Arteta to preserve his players’ energy as much as possible, starting with Wednesday’s Champions League game against Club Brugge.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice looked disappointed after losing 2-1 to Aston Villa
Arsenal can afford to rotate and prioritize Saturday’s Premier League game against Wolves, having picked up a maximum of 15 points from the first five games of the league phase and knowing 16 points would be enough for an all-important top-eight finish last season.
At that point, Arsenal may bring back some injured players. Saliba is said to have “a few days” left to return to fitness in time for the game against Aston Villa, but Gabriel and Havertz could also be in contention based on Arteta’s recent comments.
After the Wolves game, Arsenal have the rare luxury of having some free time in midweek before heading to Goodison Park to face Everton next Saturday. This is the first time since August, apart from international break, and it’s a chance to reset and slow down what is surely an unsustainable injury rate.
