Arsenal's struggles in the Premier League this season have sparked debate about the reason, but many people are wondering ahead of the Chelsea game: What is the real story of their campaign?
The Gunners have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but they are 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool when they prepare to host Chelsea this weekend. Remember, Arsenal have finished second behind Manchester City for 2 consecutive seasons.
Injuries have plagued Arsenal in the second half of the season, especially in attack. In just a few weeks, they have lost Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. In particular, Jesus and Havertz were left out of the squad for the rest of the campaign, leaving the "Gunners" without a striker.
Mikel Merino's shoulder fracture, which occurred during his first training session last August, seems to have shaped the melody of an unfortunate Arsenal campaign. It is certainly different from last season, when their key players mostly kept their physical strength.
So how badly have The Gunners suffered injuries compared to other Premier League teams? Premier Injuries data puts Arsenal fourth in terms of player losses in the league, behind only Brighton, Tottenham and Ipswich, with 869 days. In contrast, the Liverpool side have only spent a total of 594 days with player injuries.
Arsenal are slightly lower in terms of injury, causing players to miss one or more games, a total of 25 games, ranking 6th. But that number is still significantly higher than Liverpool and it is also worth considering the importance of the players sitting out.
With Saka and Jesus, captain Martin Odegaard has played much lower percentage minutes than last season due to an ankle injury in September last year. Havertz's percentage will also be significantly lower at the end of the season, due to his absence.
Some say Liverpool will be even worse off if they have to play without four key players for many months. Others will argue that Arsenal are not in the same category even with most of their strikers healthy at the start of the season. Regardless of how you look at it, injury is still a reason that cannot be ignored.
"The training trip in Dubai was great, from training, recharge to sideline activities, in a completely different environment. Then, the injury hit again. That is certainly a huge loss for Arsenal, because we have had many other injuries. But fortunately this season we are used to injuries," Arteta said in February.
