ByBulldog Drummond
The injury file doesn’t look too good at the moment, given that it contains Laurent Koscielny, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Mohammed Elneny, and it is a good job we are at the end of the season. But thankfully the days in which the media printed the endlessly recycled “Arsenal have the most injuries in the league because of Wenger” have finally stopped. There will however be another invented anti-Arsenal story circulating next season, it just hasn’t been decided on yet.
Tragically however Laurent’s operation to repair his ruptured achilles tendon means he is out for the rest of this year and of course his international career is over.
Of that situation Mr Wenger said, “Koscielny is devastated because he has had surgery…. You can only try to support people when they suffer because, of course, they suffer from a situation like that. What is unusual in his case is that he had a tendon issue for a long time and usually they don’t rupture, but in his case, it went; I don’t know why. He will make a full recovery because the advantage of the surgery is that it heals the inflammation.”
Mr Wenger also said that Mesut Özil will mostly likely not play in these last two games due to the back problem he has. “Even at half-time in Madrid, he had that problem. I think it’s highly unlikely that he will play again before the end of the season because he doesn’t train.”
He also countered the criticism that Mesut picks which games he plays and which he doesn’t saying, “When he’s injured, he’s injured. It looks like that sometimes when a player can get over the pain for one game but then, after that, there’s a recurrence of inflammation. That’s what happened to him. He wanted to play on Sunday. He has gone through a difficult patch now because he is always in and out but once he is back on a consistent way he will have a huge influence.”
Mr Wenger also said that Santi Cazorla would not play in either of the last two games, even as a short term sub. There is no new talk about Elneny so he might just come back for one of the last games as he prepares for the world cup with Egypt.
With four injuries Arsenal just creep into the top ten in the Physioroom table (aequal with Chelsea placed 11th). But the injury list has a separate interest for today since Leicester are top and also because Alexis has stopped appearing as an Arsenal player (as he was according to Physioroom at the weekend), and is now listed as one of Man U’s three players out.
Here’s the league table…
| # | TEAM | How many out | Last man down | What he got |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 10 | F Diabate | Illness |
| 2 | West Ham United | 8 | M Arnautovic | Knock |
| 3 | Everton | 7 | W Rooney | Knee Injury |
| 4 | Watford | 6 | A Carrillo | Groin Strain |
| 5 | Burnley | 6 | A Barnes | Arm Injury |
| 6 | Huddersfield Town | 6 | T Kongolo | Knock |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 5 | J Ward | Ankle Injury |
| 8 | Liverpool | 5 | J Gomez | Ankle Injury |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | E Dier | Illness |
| 10 | Arsenal | 4 | M Ozil | Back |
So Leicester are at the top of the list and as we were saying yesterday, the manager is under pressure. That is to say, the owners have given him their full support just as they gave the same to Claudio Ranieri two weeks before giving him the sack, the season after he won them the League. His problem is that he not only has this game coming up against us tonight, he has Tottenham at the weekend, and they are getting anxious about the arrival of Chelsea on their doorstep.
Here is physioroom’s run down on Leicester players injured. Although the list is long, five of the players are listed to be possible returnees today.
| Man down | What he got | Due back | Today? |
| F Diabate | Illness | May 9, 2018 | Late Fitness Test |
| A Dragovic | Shoulder Injury | May 9, 2018 | Late Fitness Test |
| D Simpson | Groin Strain | May 9, 2018 | Late Fitness Test |
| R Huth | Ankle Injury | No Return Date | No |
| B Chilwell | Ankle Injury | No Return Date | No |
| O Ndidi | Hamstring Injury | No Return Date | No |
| D Amartey | Hamstring Injury | No Return Date | No |
| K Schmeichel | Ankle Injury | May 9, 2018 | Late Fitness Test |
| S Okazaki | Ankle Injury | May 9, 2018 | Late Fitness Test |
| M James | Achilles Injury | June 1, 2018 | No |
Leicester v Arsenal: what the form book tells us – it’s a little more encouraging perhaps
The fixture list is fixed: finally a little bit more of the truth comes out.
About Koscielny, remember that tackle from Carroll?
http://www.footballtacklereview.co.uk/andy-carroll-laurent-koscielny
Of course it has nothing to do with the tendon issue he had the last couple of seasons, and forced Wenger to nurse him and make him play less games.
By the way, Carroll only got a yellow card…
Vince, I think the ref got a reprimand from the PGMO…. for calling a foul and giving a yellow card… 🙁
This is off topic but Sky Sport just cannot resist having a final unnecessary dig at Arsene Wenger before he leaves Arsenal. They are asking people to vote on Wengers lowest moment from a list of bad results during his Arsenal career. It is a shame they could not behave with the same dignity and respect that Arsene has always shown, even when provoked by the media scum bags of which Sky and its pundits are a prime example.
Maybe they will balance it up with a vote on his best moments, but don’t hold your breath.