Do Arsenal really get more injuries than anyone else? Time to find out. « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 2
By Dale Higginbottom
I wrote an article at the end of last season (found here: http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/4610) about how I felt the squad had developed since the era of the invincibles and how much injuries to players seem to have been a factor on our own title challenges over the period.
I wanted to follow that up with a comparison with our rivals in the league but finding the reliable data required, months after the games is a bit long-winded, if at all possible. It’s difficult to know when for example, Fabio of Manchester IOU is injured or just out of the squad because everyone else in front of him is fit, unless you really follow each team and keep up to date with the details.
I therefore thought that we could try and create a comprehensive week-by-week list of players out for each round of the league and, in a similar way to what Walter as done with the referee report, try to prove or disprove the belief that we have injury prone players or that we are hit harder than other teams with injuries to key players.
When the 25-man squads are announced that will make things even easier to follow and analyse. I thought the best plan would be to look at what the media have now termed “The Big Six”; the teams with a decent shot of the Premier League title (although I don’t agree that the Tiny Totts have a squad anywhere close). So here’s Gameweek 2.
Arsenal Vs Blackpool
Arsenal (8 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Djourou (unused sub returning from injury)
- Midfield – Denilson, Frimpong , Ramsey, Nasri, Fabregas (second half sub, lack of match fitness)
- Attack – Bendtner, RvP (second half sub, lack of match fitness)
Point to note: Djourou was declared fit but did not play.
Stoke City Vs Tottenham
Tottenham (8 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Woodgate
- Midfield – Bentley, Modric, O’Hara,
- Attack – Defoe, Pavyluchenko, dos Santos, Keane
Wigan Vs Chelsea
Chelsea (3 injuries)
- Goalkeeper, attack – No injuries reported
- Defence – Bosingwa, Bruma
- Midfield – Kakuta
Fulham Vs Man Utd
Man Utd (5 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Ferdinand
- Midfield – Hargreaves, Anderson, Carrick (unused sub, returning from injury)
- Attack – Rooney
In tonight’s game the reports are the following.
Man City Vs Liverpool
Man City (4 injuries)
- Goalkeeper, midfield – No injuries reported
- Defence – Boateng, Bridge, Kolarov
- Attack – Balotelli
Liverpool (3 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Agger
- Midfield – Mascherano
- Attack – Torres
Point to note: There may be additions to these before the game but the players above have been reported as at least having knocks or niggles so may not be able to complete 90 minutes.
So far, Arsenal are already one of the worst hit, in numbers at least. Tottenham and Man Utd have some key individuals out and this has been shown up by this weekend’s performances. Luckily, we’ve not had too many key players out against difficult opposition and Chelsea’s performances so far have obviously shown what you can do against weaker teams when all of your best players are fit. It will be interesting to see if our injuries have an impact in the next game or two or whether Chelsea get some tough luck when they start facing tougher opponents and that’s what this weekly list will show.
I aim to do a report for each game of the season, looking solely at players missing due to injury or fatigue as a result of international away days. We should hopefully then be able to build up a picture of how we compare to our rivals and how big the impact of injuries has been on our campaign.
If I’ve missed any details or players missing please let me know. I want to be as accurate as I can with this.
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In addition I’ve looked at Gameweek 1 and here is the break down
Liverpool Vs Arsenal
Liverpool (1 injury)
Arsenal (7 injuries)
- Djourou, Fabregas, Denilson, Song, Ramsey, Bendtner, RvP
Man Utd Vs Newcastle Utd
Man Utd (4 injuries)
- Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Anderson, Carrick
Chelsea Vs West Brom
Chelsea (3 injuries)
Tottenham Vs Man City
Tottenham (5 injuries)
- Woodgate, Bentley, O’Hara, Defoe, Pavyluchenko
Man City (2 injuries)
Overall comments
In this first week Arsenal were hit by injuries to key players more than any other team. The 1-1 result was therefore made all the better considering our opponents were without just one player. The other teams fared quite well considering their injuries but it’s early days and there are plenty of difficulties ahead.