22 hours Ago By [email protected] (John Cross)
Gabriel is the latest in a long line of injuries which has cursed Arsenal’s season. The Brazil defender pulled up clutching his hamstring on his right leg in the 2-1 win over Fulham and the fear is that he could miss both legs of the Champions League quarter final with Real Madrid. Gabriel will undergo a scan on Wednesday to ascertain the extent of the issue, but it could see him out for weeks and Mikel Arteta admitted after the game that he fears it is a significant problem.
Arteta also pointed to the fact that Arsenal have had to cope with injuries all season long so they would regard it as just another setback ahead of their biggest games of the campaign. But it does beg the question as to why Arsenal have had so many injuries this season – and particularly bad hamstring injuries. It is so naive to regard it as purely bad luck.
The demands on players are unforgiving and the workload on them chasing the Premier League title, the Champions League, two domestic cups and internationals is just too much. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and now Gabriel have all suffered significant hamstring injuries this season. Saka was out for three months and the injury list has been way longer when you take in Ben White, Gabriel Jesus and Riccardo Calafiori, who are all currently sidelined.
Jurrien Timber is hoping his knee injury is not serious but he could not complete the game against Fulham and the club are desperate for him to face Real Madrid. White’s knee issue flared up in training – he has been recovering from surgery and his load is having to be managed as he comes back. Again, there is hope he could be ready.
But the problem runs deeper. If you look at the players who have suffered significant injuries this season, they have all played huge amounts of games not just this season but the previous two years. Arsenal have been full-on for three years and chasing down Manchester City in the past two seasons has clearly taken a toll and this season you are seeing the effects.
But you cannot dismiss it as just bad luck. The players all look tired, overworked and vulnerable. Gabriel has played a staggering 49 games this season for club and country.
There needs to be a full review of the global calendar. Havertz – before he got injured while on a warm weather training camp in Dubai – had played 38. There has been no rest for Saka.
Saka tore his hamstring in December but his previous two years had been unforgiving and with no rest. Somewhere along the line there has to be a question mark over whether these players are being over-trained and also overplayed because Arteta’s squad is not as deep as some of their rivals. It is a quality in a manager to know when to rest players, when to taper down training.
For example, Arne Slot has done that to perfection at Liverpool where he has gained a reputation for listening and being in tune with his medical staff. The training schedules at Arsenal have been intense, which perhaps was reflected by them flying off to Dubai when there was surely an argument for a rest instead. Arteta actually likes a smaller squad to enable him to keep together a tight, harmonious group rather than a bloated group of players where some become disaffected and unhappy.
It quickly spreads. However, Arteta is probably not great at resting and rotating players enough. Just look at Saka.
When he pulled up at Crystal Palace in mid-December it was three days after he came on as a substitute against Palace in the Carabao Cup. You could argue that Saka came on, helped Arsenal win the game, but that reliance on the same player is reflected in them continually having to go back to Gabriel because of his partnership with William Saliba. They are arguably the best in the Premier League.
Calafiori was signed for £42m last summer despite having a reputation in Italy as being injury-prone after a big knee injury early in his career. The greatest quality of any new signing is availability and Calafiori has missed way too many games. But a deeper squad, a proper rest and the ability to take players out at crucial times – times when they might be in the red zone – is what appears to have cost Arsenal dear this season.
Arteta can rightly point to injuries as a reason why their season has played out in some frustration. But that is also partly self-inflicted because of the demands of three intense years catching up with them. Even serious injuries like ACLs are scientifically proven to happen more often when players are fatigued and are more liable to make lazy, tired challenges.
The injuries and the schedule have well and truly caught up with Arsenal – and now they must hope they do not curtail their season and last hope of glory. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
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