So as we approach the derby on Sunday we seem to have a contradiction. Tottenham Ho have the best away record the league but of late they have been slipping. In the last six games table they are ninth and this is quite possibly related to the fact that in the injury table they are by far and away the worst affected club in the Premier League. In fact I can’t recall any club having more players injured at once before Christmas than Tottenham have now.
But of course the injury to Gabriel in Brazil is going to hurt Arsenal, so maybe that balances things up a little. Although even with eight Arsenal men out, according to Premier Injuries) we are nowhere near Tottenham’s injury hit list. Although I am surprised that none of the media has not started to suggest that the problem is the air in north London – it is the sort of excuse they would normally go looking for. For if we put the clubs in order of the number of injured first team players each has, (according to the Premier League Injuries site) there certainly seems to be some negative effect from playing football in London. Here are the “men down” totals.
- Tottenham Hotspur 13
- Chelsea 9
- Arsenal 8
- Crystal Palace 6
- West Ham United 6
- Brentford 4
- Fulham 3
The fact that Leeds, Everton and Manchester City are each reporting just two p;layers injured makes one think – especially given that we were seeing a similar pattern last season. And one wonders what on earth the cause of all these injuries might be and why they centre on London.
But it does put a new perspective on the signing of Piero Hincapié on loan with the intention of buying, which was the subject of considerable internal debate at Arsenal and a bit of cud-chewing in the media. Some writers considered it one deal too many when all the other transfers are considered, but if Arteta was expecting (as we were) Arsenal players to be chopped to bits throughout the league season, the deal makes a lot of sense.
Indeed with Jakub Kiwior going on loan to Porto, where, we are told, it is somewhat warmer than it is in north London, it really does seem as useful precaution.
What we do know is that last season Arsenal were totally done over by injuries, being way out at the top of the injury league table, as we regularly reported. And I rather suspect Mikel Arteta was in no mood to take more chances this time around. Hence the deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s man on loan (due to the financial regulations), with the arrangement becoming a permanent transfer in July next year. The fee is suggested as being around £46 plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
Up to this moment it has looked a bit like a somewhat over the top insurance policy, but now suddenly it looks more like some clever forward planning.
As for Gabriel there seems to be a general feeling that he most certainly will be out for a number of weeks, but then that is what happens if players are allowed to go off and play on the other side of the world.
But what makes this a somewhat different state of affairs from that we have had in other seasons, is that players are either tearing about thither and yon playing internationals, or are playing twice a week in England. Or to be exact 14 games in eight weeks, which is almost the same thing.
There is however another potential solution: Cristhian Mosquera who came in last summer from Valencia. He played 82 times for them and has played at every level for Spain from the under 16s up to the under 21. So we seem to have two alternatives – Calafiori (who may or may not be fit, or is suffering a reaction from having played too many games) and Mosquera.
And perhaps this is Hincapie’s time. Arsenal worked hard to get him up to sharpness before the international break, with substitute appearances against Crystal Palace and Burnley sandwiched between starts against Brighton and Slavia Prague. A further two games for Ecuador during the break will have helped him get up to speed.
It is of course quite possible that other bits of shuffling around may occur – and indeed this is why Arsenal have a) been buying in players b) been bringing through young players galore and c) left a couple of spaces spare in the 25 man squad, into which any new purchase could fit. So Lewis-Skelly could get more game time, and indeed Ben White could return to being the permanent fixture in defence he once was and someone new could turn up.
What we don’t know about is how close players are to a return having been out with injuries. Of course not all are defenders, but each player returning tends to bring in new options as each player change invariably can mean a change to the shape of the team..
