Arsenal: 5 injuries Gunners can’t afford in top four hunt

From the depths of despair Arsenal have not only managed to claw their way back into top four contention, they find themselves sitting atop the chasing pack with 13 games left to play.

The team and the coaching staff deserve immense credit for digging themselves out of a hole they fashioned for themselves, as to be in this position with a third of the season remaining was unfathomable just a few weeks into the campaign.

Beating Watford 3-2 last time out leaves Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of the pack on points and with fewer matches played, which with a daunting run of three matches in six days to come is exactly the cushion they need.

But as witnessed with events earlier in the season, it only takes one or two results for the situation to flip on its head.

Arsenal: 5 injuries Mikel Arteta’s side can’t afford in their quest to finish in the Premier League top four with such a thin squad

The Gunners still have to play Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool, West Ham and Chelsea across their final run, with two of those games yet to be rearranged having seen their initial scheduled times postponed.

This is also a young team. As much as it is Arsenal who are showing the consistency that their rivals aren’t at present, boasting the youngest squad in the league does tend to result in inconsistencies.

One of their other major worries relates to potential injuries. Reducing the squad down to just 20 senior players over the January window leaves little room for maneuverability in that department.

While there are a host of injuries Arsenal would rather avoid, some players’ absences can be mitigated in one way or another – Cedric Soares has filled in more adequately than expected for Takehiro Tomiyasu – other individuals are so fundamental to how Arsenal play that them falling foul to injury is something Arsenal can ill-afford. There are five in particular who there are lingering worries about.

1. Benjamin White

Mr. Reliable for Arsenal this season has clocked up more minutes than anyone else in his first season at the club. The beating heart of the defence is on 2,486 minutes already, 202 more than the next in line, Bukayo Saka.

With praise from all corners of the club, including his manager and Alexandre Lacazette who listed him as captain material, White has gone about his business with consistency across all competitions, with few notable mistakes or poor performances en route.

He brings so much to this team. On the ball he is a leader, never shirking responsibility and always willing to assume possession and drive his team forward even in times of adversity.

Were he to be out the next in line to take his place would be Rob Holding. While the fellow Englishman has carved himself a niche in this team as the first choice substitute whenever someone gets sent off, outside of being a low block defender his limitations on the ball are clear.

The drop off in quality is considerable. In the case of some players you don’t realise how important they are until they don’t play. That would absolutely apply to White. Losing him for any length of time would be a hammer blow.

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2. Thomas Partey

There is a lot of excitement around Sambi Lokonga. He hasn’t been given fair treatment from many corners of the fanbase, however, with the level of expectancy on him too great considering the league he came from.

But he’s a work in progress. He’s still learning.

Yet, were Thomas Partey to come out of the team it would be catastrophic for Arsenal on so many levels. The next No. 6 in line to start would be Sambi, but asking him to perform the role that Partey is currently playing would see a huge gulf in class. Partey has a skillset nobody else in this team possesses. He’s operating at an elite level and that can’t be replaced.

The Ghanaian is in his best form since joining the club. He’s come alive in the lone No. 6 role, demonstrating elegance and steel in a position where he is shouldered with much more responsibility than before.

If he were to get injured – his current spell in the team is the longest since he arrived – Arteta would surely have to move away from the 4-3-3 shape and bring Granit Xhaka back into a double pivot to supplement his rawness.

As for Xhaka, there is no question that him being absent would also constitute a huge loss. However, in the 4-3-3 system there is at least more scope to bring Emile Smith Rowe, Sambi, or even Bukayo Saka into the left-sided No. 8, especially against weaker teams.

That said, the Swiss could very easily have his own slot on this list.

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3. Martin Odegaard

If the question was asked a couple of months ago this might not have been the case. Martin Odegaard was starting to find his feet in the team and stamp his authority on matches for longer spells, yet the feeling was that Smith Rowe could come in in his stead.

Now operating on another planet as the right-sided No. 8, and striking up a devastating partnership with Saka, the thought of not having him available for selection is one that is too terrifying to even consider.

It’s not just his quality either. Odegaard’s work rate is exemplary. It’s infectious.

Losing that engine and that drive could have consequences beyond scope. While the whole team works hard in its current guise, any player putting in weekly performances at the level Odegaard is hitting is an absence you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Well, maybe Spurs.

Having a left-footer – specifically this one – in that right half-space has transformed how the team attack and you dare not think what might happen were he to be out of action.

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4. Bukayo Saka

If asked whether you could choose only one of Odegaard or Saka to be in the team at any one time, most would probably plead the fifth. That’s a horrible question to ask.

Is it Odegaard, though? Nicolas Pepe must be frothing at the mouth over the prospect of playing on the right side with the Norwegian, just like Gabriel Martinelli might be asking Arteta whether he can have a go at switching sides for the same reason.

But with the form he’s in, losing Saka for even one game would be devastating. Don’t let any impressive, yet brief, Pepe cameos cloud judgement. The level Saka is performing at makes him irreplaceable. Who in the Premier League would you realistically swap him for?

The answer is nobody, other than perhaps Mohamed Salah, but you’d feel dirty doing it.

Saka is the shining beacon of this team and having Pepe come in on that side, someone without the physicality, the tactical intelligence or technical security, would have a significant impact on the team’s overall performance.

Could Arsenal get by on a few occasions? Depending on the opposition then maybe. But Saka is one of a kind.

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5. Alexandre Lacazette

It’s quite ironic: a player that fans are desperate to see upgraded on in the summer is also someone who if he weren’t available for the rest of the season would spell total disaster.

Even if Lacazette was injured for a couple of matches the impact would be keenly felt. Everything the team is doing at present, whether he’s scoring or not, is down to the role he plays. It’s one nobody else in the squad could perform.

Getting Nketiah to come in and play at the tip of a midfield diamond would not work. Getting Martinelli to come in and play the tip of a midfield diamond would not work.

Whoever replaced Lacazette in the side would have to be part of a tactical overhaul. The most obvious candidate to play a false nine position is Smith Rowe, yet it’s happened only once before and will require multiple minutes of competitive action to fine tune.

With nine goal involvements in his last ten games and the captain’s armband wrapped around his bicep, Lacazette means more to Arsenal now than he has in his entire Gunners career. Everything positive about the team at present is so because he’s in the team to begin with. He’s a central stabiliser that makes all the others around him more potent.

Whether he’s scoring or not, that remains the case across the next 13 matches.