Arsenal's injury list is not an insult to the Emirates' medical staff

By John Cross

Published 06:01 11/03/10

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Top of any Arsenal fan's agenda this season has been the club's crippling injury list.

Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Manuel Almunia, Cesc Fabregas, Lukasz Fabianski, Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby and Eduardo have all suffered longer term injuries this season.

That is some cast list and it is a great tribute to Arsenal's resilience that they are still in there fighting on two fronts.

But it is puzzling as to why there are so many more injuries than at any other club. Arsene Wenger is not suggesting any sort of conspiracy, but admitted this week the club has carried out its own internal investigation.

Wenger said: "We have not found any obvious reason. We have investigated a lot because we have not so many muscular injuries, more contact injuries.

"For example, we have had Gibbs, Van Persie and now Ramsey. It's three. I don't know how to qualify that any more because it is three tackles that every time broke the legs of our players. So the long-term injuries we've had are more accidents.

"Diaby is a little bit different because he had big ankle surgery so they say the balance of his body changed and sometimes he walks in a different position than he should.

"Walcott had his shoulder problems. It is difficult to find a common denominator to all the problems we have had."

It has been ridiculous and there must be times when Arsenal physio Colin Lewin's treatment room has been overflowing with patients.

Do Arsenal train too hard? Push their players too much? Are the players lightweight?

Wenger probably has his own private theories. But Ramsey was a freak injury, hopefully a one-off. Diaby has had more than his fair share after long-term injury. The same goes for Eduardo.

However, Van Persie got injured on international duty after a gruelling schedule. And did that tiredness mean he got to the ball that spilt second later than he wanted and therefore got clobbered?

Yes, there must be more specific reasons, but the simplest one is that the players, in World Cup year, are pushing themselves that much harder and that explains why they are getting so many injuries.

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