Why Arsenal's injury crisis is their own doing

Arsenal have now lost Kai Havertz to a season-ending injury and that brings their list of unavailable forwards to four.

While injuries are a natural part of football, you can't help but think the hefty amount Mikel Arteta's side have faced has been their own doing. An overreliance on the same players has seen the development of a heavy workload that not all throughout the league have to face. Consistent failures to act accordingly in transfer windows have then meant those workloads are not eased at any point of the season.

The injury crisis the Gunners face will seriously affect their ambitions for the remainder of the season but it is hard to argue that they have been the architects of their own downfall on the fitness front.

Why Arsenal's injury crisis is their own doing

Over the past few seasons, Mikel Arteta has relied on certain players to feature in most games and that has seen a very heavy workload develop. As a result, those squad members have been under pressure to play consistently on a weekly basis and the team have faced the consequences this campaign.

Prior to his injury, Bukayo Saka had featured in every game he was available for this season and ultimately paid the price when he picked up a long-term hamstring injury in a 5-1 away win at Crystal Palace. When fit, the winger was constantly called upon by Arteta, even in games where he should've been given a much-needed rest.

For years, Arsenal fans have called for the club to sign a backup for the star forward but there was never any real moves made in the transfer window. As a result, he had to play constantly and, like many predicted, that eventually proved to be costly.

Kai Havertz is the latest name to be added to the Gunners' injury list and that is again as a result of high amounts of playing time. The German made 34 appearances this season, missing just two of the matches he was available for. Like Saka, the overreliance on Havertz ended up being too much and he has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

In similar circumstances, he had been forced to play a high number of games due to the club's lack of another centre forward. Again, fans had called for the club to bring in a striker in multiple transfer windows but nothing came to fruition, meaning Havertz had to be solely relied on.

You can make this argument all day about being overplayed, in relation to Gabriel Martinelli and Ben White and not many will disagree. It is clear that a huge factor in Arsenal's injury crisis is the decision to play the same players over and over.

That need however has stemmed from some lack of action in the transfer market. A new winger that could provide cover on both flanks should have been on the agenda for a number of years but no move is yet to have been made. The club have been in desperate need of a deadly goalscoring striker since the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but three years on, there remains to be no development.

Arsenal really have shot themselves in the foot this season. A sense of negligence in the transfer window has resulted in the same players being relied on week in, week out. While that has worked over the past couple of campaigns, it has finally come back to bite the Gunners this year with crucial players such as Saka and Havertz being absent for long periods, thus seriously weakening the overall ability of the team.

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