This past summer, the "Gunners" brought in 8 new players along with young talent Max Dowman who was promoted to the first team. A total of 9 players were added to the first team, making The Gunners' force noticeably thicker.
For Arsenal fans, the phrase "injury crisis" is no longer strange. Right now, that scenario is recurring even though it is only in the early stages of the season. Arsenal have almost one new injury in every Premier League match. The 1-1 draw with Man City last weekend was the latest proof, with Noni Madueke due to a long-term absence due to a knee injury.
If the chupement results are as predicted, the English winger will be out of action for at least 2 months. Thus, Mikel Arteta's attack has lost another piece, while the list of injured players is getting longer and longer.
According to statistics, in the past 9 months, Arsenal's attacking players have suffered 12 different injuries, equal to the number of goals scored by the "Gunners" strikers since March.
This list includes the most important pillars such as Bukayo Saka, with a total of nearly 130 days off. Saka has suffered a knee in the first half of the Leeds game this season and has only returned last weekend.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus has been out for more than half a year with a knee ligament injury, with only a few weeks off for the whole of 2025. Kai Havertz has also suffered two serious injuries, contributing less than 45 minutes in the Premier League in the past half year. It is expected that the German star will be able to return by the end of November.
In addition, Gabriel Martinelli had to miss a month due to a hamstring injury, and then had another problem in May. Captain Martin Odegaard has also left the pitch twice due to a shoulder injury. It is still unknown when the Norwegian midfielder will return.
For a club that is aiming to compete for the championship, having almost never had the strongest attack on the pitch is clearly a big disadvantage for Arsenal.
Besides the attack, Arsenal's other positions have also had many sick players since the beginning of the season. William Saliba suffered an ankle injury in the match against Liverpool, having to miss 2 matches. Hincapie, White and Norgaard are also not in the best physical condition. New signings Hincapie and Norgaard made their only debut against Athletic Bilbao last week in the Champions League.
The image of Arsenal playing brilliantly at the beginning of the season and then slowing down due to lack of players is now at risk of repeating under Arteta. The old nightmare is about to return and the "Gunners" worry is once again overthrown by the fragility of their own existence.
In the previous 3 seasons, Arteta often lamented his injury obsession, when Arsenal's bench always lacked quality cards that could turn the situation around. The last time Arteta had enough force in attack was a 5-1 win over Crystal Palace in December 2024. In that match, the Arsenal captain even had Declan Rice sit on the bench to make way for Havertz, Jesus and Martinelli to start together. As a result, all three strikers scored.
However, that was the only time. Since that match, each round has brought new bad news from the medical room. Injury numbers not only show luck, they also reflect a problem with fitness management. Is the exercise volume overloaded? Is physical preparation not enough? This is a question that the Arsenal coaching staff and medical team cannot avoid.
Luckily, at the moment, Mikel Arteta has more options than last season. In addition, the most important player Saka returned earlier than expected. However, consecutive injuries are a warning for Arteta and his team about how to manage and adjust training and competition volumes.
