- How to deflect from reality: refereeing figures for the League Cup are bonkers
- Chelsea v Arsenal in the League Cup semis tomorrow
By Tony Attwood
There is, of course, always a profound danger in believing anything you read in the media, and yes, we made the fatal error of forgetting that yesterday. Having explored the issue of Arsenal having comparatively few injuries, we find that Saliba and Trossard were apparently not resting in the FA Cup match against Portsmouth but were injured. Both are doubts for tonight’s game.
Ibarguen and Dowman are not yet training, Calafiori is out for a few weeks, Trossard and Saliba’s are maybes for part of the game, while Reyna is definitely out. So we are, as Arteta admitted, lacking in experienced players all over the pitch.
And he also added a phrase that I don’t think we have heard before, and which admits that there is more to this than Arsenal buying players who are prone to injury. He said, “We are trying to find solutions to protect our players.” Exactly what Arsenal do need to do, given that no one else (including referees) is doing the job.
However, he did admit that, as we have noticed in this season, and during the injury crisis of last season, Arsenal players such as Christian Norgaard and Declan Rice are trained to play not only in their normal positions but elsewhere on the pitch, and so can move across where injuries to others dictate the need. In the interviews, there was particular mention of Norgaard being ready to play so we may see him tonight.
Now this is particularly interesting because if Nørgaard and Gabriel Magalhães play together in tonight’s game, that will be (according to the Guardian) “the eighth central defensive partnership Arsenal have used this season.”
That is extraordinary in itself, but is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the paper chooses to ignore, which is that despite being remorselessly chopped down throughout the season, Arsenal’s defence is still the best in the league, as the table organised by goals conceded shows….
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 21 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 14 | 26 | 49 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 19 | 26 | 43 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 30 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 28 |
The Guardian for example, ignores this but instead focuses on last year’s semi-final when Arsenal went out 4-0 on aggregate. Arteta replied, “We know that we are two games away from playing a final.”
What is also not mentioned is the fact that while Arsenal’s injury list is large, with six men down, 13 other clubs in the Premier League have the same number or more injuries affecting them at the moment. Newcastle are missing Fabian Schar, Valentino Livramento, Emil Krafth, Dan Burn, William Osula, Anthony Junior Elanga (who is suggested has a 25% chance of playing), Jacob Murphy, and Jamaal Lascelles.
Only West Ham seem relativvely unaffected as they have only three men down, but they remain 18th in the league, seven points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th, so it is probably due to the fact that no one bothers to tackle their players, as there doesn’t seem to be any threat from them.
So we can conclude that the injury situation is out of control across much of the league, and of course, the PGMO could step in and tighten up the rules on dangerous tackles, but it seems they don’t really want to be involved.
But as we have already noted, Chelsea at home are not really doing that well, having won only four of their last ten home games this season. Indeed they have won just one of their last four home matches – all of which have been League games. That win was against Everton.
And when we look at Everton’s away record, we can see that is appalling, with that win at Stamford Bridge being their only away win since beating Wolverhampton in August. In recent home games, Chelsea have lost to Aston Villa and drawn with Bournemouth.
Although the game is at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will of course, be boosted by their 1-5 away win in the FA Cup over Charlton, but not as much as the fact that Arsenal have the best away record in the league. I would certainly hope for at least a draw, and maybe even a victory by a couple of goals.
Finally, for the moment, Arsenal might just for once get a boost from the referee who this season has seen 41.7% of his matches end as away wins. 33.3% are home wins and 25% are draws. For once, we can hope that the bias stays with him
