Monday, October 25th, 2010 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger in all he does
Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 9
By Dale Higginbottom
Nine games in, as-near-as-dammit a quarter of the season gone; second in the league and (at present) a level of injuries that is manageable. Gameweek 9 injury figures.
Man City Vs Arsenal
Man City (4 injuries)
- Goalkeeper, midfield – No injuries reported
- Defence – Kolarov (8), K Toure (1)
- Attack – Tchuimeni-Nimely (6), Jo (1)
Additional issues: Balotelli was a second half substitute after being out for seven weeks with an injury. Tevez could only play 52 minutes, coming off with an injury. Yaya Toure was a doubt but started the game and played the first half before coming off due to a tactical change.
Arsenal (5 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – Almunia (3)
- Defence – Vermaelen (6)
- Midfield – Frimpong (8), Ramsey (9)
- Attack – van Persie (6)
Additional issues: Koscielny was an unused substitute as he returns from a spell out injured.
Stoke Vs Man Utd
Man Utd (7 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Evans (1)
- Midfield – Hargreaves (9), Valencia (5), Park Ji-Sung (2), Giggs (2)
- Attack – Rooney (3), Owen (1)
Additional issues: No additional issues reported.
Chelsea Vs Wolves
Chelsea (4 injuries)
- Goalkeeper, attack – No injuries reported
- Defence – Alex (2)
- Midfield – Lampard (6), Benayoun (4), Ramires (1)
Additional issues: Kalou came on as a second half substitute after a short spell out through injury. Drogba played 90 minutes, returning after a virus.
Tottenham Vs Everton
Tottenham (4 injuries)
- Goalkeeper – No injuries reported
- Defence – Dawson (6), King (3)
- Midfield – O’Hara (9)
- Attack – Defoe (7)
Additional issues: Woodgate, not in the 25-man squad, is not included in this list despite being injured. Kaboul returned from a spell out and played 90 minutes.
Liverpool Vs Blackburn
Liverpool (3 injuries)
- Goalkeeper, midfield– No injuries reported
- Defence – Agger (3), Johnson (1)
- Attack – Kuyt (4)
Additional issues: No additional issues reported.
For the first time in a while Arsenal are not top of the injury standings. Just five players missing this time is something that we were hoping for before the international break. The totals this week seem a bit more even across the teams but Man Utd have shot up to top the injury table.
Man City Vs Arsenal was not a game ruled by injury concerns. Both teams were able to field strong teams with a selection of strong substitutes available on the benches. City missed Kolo Toure who was unavailable and Tevez for most of the second half but then Arsenal also were without Vermaelen and van Persie so honours even there.
The return of Cesc Fabregas seemed to make a difference this week. However, whilst he put in a good shift it was in fact the team around him that showed that it’s not just about one player. There is a feeling of optimism at the moment that as long as one or two of our key players are available, the rest of the squad can fill in and make up for the other missing players.
Fabianski is now showing that he can be more than capable between the sticks. Eboue and Gibbs have proven over the past season or two that they can step in comfortably at full-back. Djourou has come back from last season’s injury and showing the form that he showed whilst on loan at Birmingham City a few seasons back. Squillaci has made the odd mistake but is settling in and has great experience at the top level. In midfield Wilshere is proving to be ready to step into Cesc’s position when he’s out and if Ramsey can do the same when he returns, we’ve got great replacements in midfield.
Finally upfront, Bendtner and Chamakh are more than capable at providing firepower in van Persie’s absence and Walcott, Rosicky and Vela have an abundance of quality that impact on games should Arshavin or Nasri be unavailable.
Onto the rest of the games.
Man Utd showed that they can do it when Rooney is not there, winning their first away league game of the season. They did make it difficult for them selves but given the week they have had it was a good result for them.
Chelsea had a somewhat easier task ahead of them after their mid-week win. Despite missing a few players in midfield they managed a fairly comfortable home win against Wolves largely down to the return of Drogba and Kalou.
Liverpool finally got their second win of the league season. This was long overdue considering their injury record. I still get the feeling Torres is not fully fit and as he gets back to 100% they should start winning more.
Spurs had a tough return from their midweek defeat with a home tie against Everton. A 1-1 draw was a fair result but considering the relatively few injuries to their squad compared to previous games these are the sorts of games Tottenham should be winning if they are to challenge for the title.
Last week Arsene Wenger said that he believes that the injury record is down to a combination of bad luck and bad tackling. He said that he does not believe our injury levels to be significantly higher than our rivals and that’s exactly what these reports hope to show.
Maybe it could be argued that he is sometimes over-cautious when it comes to return dates and playing players straight after injury. There’s no true way of identifying whether this is the case as it is difficult as an outsider to truly know the level of risk involved when making decisions on player fitness. It seems to this outsider that maybe Wenger is sometimes on the cautious side but if I am right in that assumption is there good reason for it?
It is by no means a bad thing to be cautious. December last year Fabregas made a cameo appearance against Aston Villa and single-handedly won the game. He was just returning from injury and as a result of playing picked up a knock that put him out for three more games. Do events like this influence decisions? Certainly. Will it make the manager think differently when similar decisions have to be made? Maybe so.
In the case above we dropped 2 points against Everton at home that we may not have done had Cesc been playing but gained three points from the Aston Villa game which could have easily been just a draw. It might not always work out like that and so it could pay to be on the cautious side, particularly when the squad depth is such that it allows players to be fully rested before their return. Arsene has been slowly building this squad over the past seasons and it is now showing, particularly with Sunday’s result, just how much strength and depth there is at Arsenal.
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