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Debuchy Potentially Ruled Out For Three Months
Arsenal seemed to have been getting back towards having what, by Arsenal’s standards, can be classed as having a fully fit squad by the end of January, only to lose Debuchy at the weekend to a clumsy push from a Stoke player. It seems that the right back will be out for up to 3 months with a dislocated shoulder, and even if he does return faster than expected it is unlikely that he will be playing before the end of February at the best.
Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers will be vying for the starting role at right back but it is a shame to see the Frenchman sidelined again seemingly so soon after recovering from an unrelated injury to his ankle, especially as his injury record before joining Arsenal was pretty clear; only missing a total of 15 matches over 5 seasons with previous clubs due to injury.
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So I think this brings us back towards an earlier article about Arsenal’s injury record, namely if it was just bad luck or a fault with the club in some way? With this one many would be tempted to simply write it off as just bad luck because they are two unrelated injuries to a player who has rarely been injured before, but I think we could be seeing the effect of our perceived lack of muscle.
Arsenal have long been perceived as a team that is easy on the eye but not great at holding their own in a physical fight, and I think people push harder against us because we don’t have an enforcer and we are pushed off of the ball easier than some of the other teams. Debuchy’s injury this time was from a shove, but would they feel the need to push a City player or a Chelsea player off the ball? Are we seen as a team that can be intimidated?
I don’t think it’s properly down to one thing and obviously we have seen players take seemingly heavier falls than Debuchy’s and get up and carry on, but I do think we have to act in making ourselves more physical because it is beginning to get a bit ridiculous. Plus a strong defensive midfielder is exactly what we need to start breaking up play anyway, and is something we’ve been missing for quite a few seasons now.
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