Arsenal: Injuries are part and parcel of football

Arsenal are wading through a mire of injuries ahead of Chelsea’s trip to the Emirates on Wednesday night. But they are part and parcel of football; Arsene Wenger cannot use them as an excuse.

Arsenal and injuries go hand-in-hand like turkey and stuffing. It’s an annual occurrence and they always make a meal of it.

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Unfortunately, fans have just had to get used to that fact. There is an expectation that, at some point in the season, the Gunners will have to deal with an injury crisis of some sorts. And, right on cue, the latest injury mess has reared it’s ugly head.

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Arsenal host Chelsea on Wednesday night in desperate need of a win. They sit seven points behind their visitors, off the pace required to haul themselves back into the top four, and have won just two of their last seven games. So Arsene Wenger will be happy to welcome yet more injury issues to some of his most prominent contributors. Here he is giving the latest news in his pre-match press conference:

"“At the moment our injury list is quite long. We lost Kolasinac, Koscielny in the game at West Brom. The two who have a little chance are Ozil, who might have a test this morning and Koscielny, who is 30-70 available. We have a squad that is equipped to deal with injuries – we’ve shown that in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. But we cannot lose any more players now.”"

Certainly, losing Sead Kolasinac, Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil in the last week is extremely unfortunate. But it is the compound effect of already being without Olivier Giroud, Nacho Monreal, Aaron Ramsey, and the ever-injured Santi Cazorla that is so detrimental to Arsenal’s hopes against Chelsea.

But injuries are nothing new. Football is a contact sport. Injuries will happen. That is why having a squad is so important. And Wenger, to his credit, recognises this. He states that he is happy with the strength, depth and variety of his squad, implying that he will now have to rely on it to see him through the next few weeks.

So while the injuries are significantly restricting the potency and quality of this team, they are never a valid excuse for any team’s shortcomings. Unfortunate? Yes. Unlucky? Absolutely. But they are not solely to blame; they do not provide a sufficient reason to explain away poor performances and results.

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And so, Wenger must work through his injury problems. That is not easy. But that is what they must do. Injuries are part and parcel of football. It’s not the getting them that is important. It’s how they are dealt with.