By Bulldog Drummond
Only two teams left active so in many ways the injury table doesn’t matter any more. We have six and Chelsea four. However for once we are not top – Newcastle are on seven, presumably one of which is the illness of disappointment after the possibility of becoming the richest club in the league was dangled and lost. Mind you the owner is walking away with a rather large, multi-million pound non-refundable deposit.
And interestingly, none of the blogs and journalists who wrote ceaseless stories about Arsenal always having the most injuries because of Mr Wenger’s training techniques have come back to the story, now we have different coaches and a different manager. Why is that? Is it because we had those bad figures because the referees permitted greater levels of fouling against Arsenal than other teams – which is what the 160 game review suggested to me.
Here are the injured men…
| Player | Injury | Notes | Back | Playing? |
| Bernd Leno | Knee Injury | July 24: “Now participating in outside running and ball drills. Aiming to be back in full training next week.” | 01/08/2020 | 50% |
| Hector Bellerin | Calf/Shin/Heel Injury | Tight Calf Muscles | 01/08/2020 | 75% |
| Gabriel Martinelli | Knee Injury | July 16: “Will continue his recovery throughout the close season, with the aim of a return to full training by the end of 2020.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
| Calum Chambers | Knee Injury | July 17: “Will continue to work hard throughout the close season with the aim of being back to full training this calendar year.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
| Shkodran Mustafi | Thigh Injury | July 28: “In the early stages of his recovery and rehab, receiving specialist attention and support from our medical team. Aiming to return to full training in October.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
| Pablo Mari Villar | Ankle/Foot Injury | July 16: “Will return to the UK later in July to resume his rehab at our training centre throughout the close season, with the aim of returning to full training in Sept.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
And what, I hear you cry, of Chelsea. How have they had players crippled in front of the referee without action being taken?
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Back | Playing |
| N’Golo Kante | Thigh Injury | July 24: “A possibility he’ll feature. He trained for the first time towards a match pace this morning. It’s a decision I’ll have to make.” | 26/07/2020 Late test | 50% |
| Marco van Ginkel | Knee Injury | Nov 28: Back on the training pitches after more than year out. “Not there yet, but it is getting closer now.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
| Billy Gilmour | Knee Injury | July 10: “I saw it happen midway through the first half and it was completely accidental. He’s damaged the meniscus in his knee but we’ve got the best surgeon on it.” | No Return Date | Ruled Out |
| Willian Borges Da Silva | Other | Knock | No Return Date, being assessed | 25% |
All data from physioroom.com
Since both teams are away from home we can take a look at each club’s away form…
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 19 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 17 | 16 | 44 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 19 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 34 |
| 3 | Southampton | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 31 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 30 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 29 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 28 |
| 7 | Burnley | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 24 | 8 | 25 |
| 9 | Sheffield United | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 21 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 20 |
As might be expected Chelsea outshine us in every department… except one. They have let in 14 more away goals than we have. Of course they have scored 19 away goals more than we have which makes up for it, but it might be worth noting, away from home their form in defence is the worst in the league.
No one has conceded more away goals than Chelsea. In fact if we take a peek at their away form this month, it is quite revealing.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 01 July 2020 | West Ham United v Chelsea | L | 3-2 | Premier League |
| 07 July 2020 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | W | 2-3 | Premier League |
| 11 July 2020 | Sheffield United v Chelsea | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 19 July 2020 | Manchester United v Chelsea | W | 1-3 | FA Cup |
| 22 July 2020 | Liverpool v Chelsea | L | 5-3 | Premier League |
14 goals conceded away from home in the last five games. That’s quite a lot really.
To delve into Arsenal’s last five away games we have to go back one week further and then we find…
| 25 June 2020 | Southampton v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 28 June 2020 | Sheffield United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 04 July 2020 | Wolverhampton v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 12 July 2020 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 21 July 2020 | Aston Villa v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
Three wins two defeats and four goals conceded. Maybe we do have a chance.
More tomorrow.
- Arsenal to slaughter 3 wild animals buy 11 players and keep one.
- The rise of the new “no one likes us”
- The shocking statistics on how referees have affected Arsenal’s league position
