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by Bulldog Drummond
Arsenal have now got six players injured according to Physioroom. It is quite a jump up the charts, but Arsenal are by no means the most affected club in the league at this point. Other teams high up on the injury list are
- Bournemouth: 9
- Everton: 8
- Liverpool: 8
- Newcastle United: 7
- Crystal Palace: 7
- Watford: 7
- West Ham United: 6
So yes we are in the upper reaches of the list, but by no means the worst club for injuries, as we were told we always were during the days when the game was to suggest that it was Mr Wenger’s training methods that gave us more injuries than anyone else. We didn’t get more than anyone else, and there was no truth in the story about the training methods, but that never stopped people repeating the story ad infinitum.
Here’s the physioroom chart…
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Return? | Status |
| Kieran Tierney | Shoulder Injury | “Dislocated shoulder at West Ham. Kieran will undergo surgery next week and will rehabilitate for around three months.” | 14/03/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Rob Holding | Knee Injury | Dec 11: “Bruising to knee. Aiming to return to full training in next two weeks.” | 01/01/2020 | 50% |
| Dani Ceballos | Thigh Injury | Dec 14: “Aiming to return to full training next week.” | 26/12/2019 | 50% |
| Hector Bellerin | Thigh Injury | Dec 14: “Tight hamstring. Will miss Man City. Aiming to resume training next week.” | 21/12/2019 | 50% |
| Granit Xhaka | Head/Face Injury | Dec 11: “Concussion. Will miss Standard Liege and Man City and will be managed as per concussion protocols.” | 21/12/2019 | Ruled Out |
| Sead Kolasinac | Ankle/Foot Injury | Ankle Sprain | No Return Date | 25% |
Football.London has the story that both Xhaka and Ceballos are going to be ready and able to play.
Meanwhile we now have a number of players approaching the yellow card trap door, having amassed four cards:
- Granit Xhaka – four cards in 12 games
- Calum Chambers – four cards in 12 games
- Mattéo Guendouzi – four cards in 16 games
Picking a team is difficult, not least because there is hardly anyone left who is not now being abused all day long on social media and we have no idea which players can shrug it off and which one’s get affected by abuse.
For the moment Leno, Saka, and Guendouzi seem to be without too many critics, but otherwise, the rest of the team know that they are anything but the media and bloggers’ favourites. The temptation to play safe by such players who are selected must now be overwhelming, and of course that means reducing the players’ effectiveness.
1-0 to the boo boys.
Up next the teams.
