Arsenal fans’ worst nightmare came true last night against lowly Norwich, everyone feared that playing Alexis Sanchez for these many games would come back to haunt them and the Chilean did pick up a hamstring injury in the second half of the match. Hopefully, it doesn’t look the most serious injury, just a tweak of the hamstring, but that does leave Arsenal thin with so many injuries already affecting the team.
Fatigue has been a problem for Sanchez, but the player will never complain or say no to a football game, that is just how passionate he is, but Arsene should have known better than to risk him in a game which the Gunners should have won even without the services of Sanchez. The problem with the Gunners is that far too many players have been injured this season and an interesting stat was shared earlier that almost every single outfield player has been injured for them this season.
Training pitch or medical room?
Listing out the players that Arsenal have somehow gotten injured this season, it starts with Wilshere and goes on and on. Welbeck, Arteta, Coquelin, Sanchez, Ozil, Oxlade – Chamberlain, Giroud, Koscielny, Bellerin, Walcott and Rosicky, we might be missing out a few, but that list is mind boggling to say the least. While Arsene wouldn’t have expected such a huge number of injuries, it does raise a few doubts about his transfer policy.
Arsenal were the only team in the league who did not purchase any outfield player and that can certainly come back to bite them. Cazorla and Koscielny picked up injuries against Norwich as well, but they aren’t as serious as earlier believed and should be fit enough for the next game. The lost list of injuries has affected the performance of the team as well with so many chops and changes.
Arsenal ended November without winning any Premier League game, which historically has been one of their worst months in the league. The number of injuries will also worry Arsene with the important holiday season games coming up with each team playing three games in just seven days. Plus there is the all-important clash against Olympiakos in the Champions League where the Gunners have to win by a two-goal margin to qualify.
It isn’t all doom and gloom for them with a few players close to returning but this should heed as a warning to Wenger, pushing his players and playing them constantly will make them more injury prone. Sanchez was a risk that Arsene took and it didn’t pay off, the forward got injured and could be out for a month and Arsenal didn’t even get the three points which could have taken them to the top of the league tied with Manchester City.
Arsenal have a gruelling fixture in the Champions League coming up and unless Arsene is a bit clever with the way he manages his squad, they could fall further off the pace or worse lose players to injury. Arsenal should be looking to buy a few players in January but will Arsene open the piggy bank?