Arsenal v Tottenham: the injuries and 10 years results under 3 different managers

By Bulldog Drummond

I normally run the league table of injured players from the most injured to the least but let’s for once try this the other way around and look at the clubs most able to keep their players fit…

  1. West Ham United: 1
  2. Arsenal: 2 
  3. Chelsea: 2
  4. Leicester City: 2
  5. Crystal Palace: 3
  6. Manchester United: 3
  7. Tottenham Hotspur: 3
  8. Watford: 3
  9. Brentford: 4
  10. Brighton and Hove: 4
  11. Norwich City: 4
  12. Southampton: 4
  13. Burnley: 5
  14. Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5
  15. Manchester City: 6
  16. Aston Villa: 7
  17. Leeds United: 7
  18. Liverpool: 7
  19. Newcastle United: 7
  20. Everton: 8

I am seriously starting to wonder if there is not a direct link between the amount of tackling a club does and the number of injuries it has.  It is going to take a bit of sum doing but there could be a link.

Anyway, Arsenal’s injured men are reported by Physioroom as Xhaka and Tierney.  Xhaka will of course be free to play in the game against the Tinies, because his was not an injury at all, but a ban across three games, which have now been played.  Tierney’s injury is not rated as serious and he has a 75% chance of playing.

Tottenham’s injuries are somewhat different as this table from Physioroom below shows.  Only one of the three is liable to be ready to play in this forthcoming game – but even then he is only rated at 25%.

Player Reason Further Detail Potential Return Condition Status
Steven Bergwijn Ankle/Foot Injury “He has an injury on his foot, he twisted his ankle. It’s very, very painful. The injury needs to settle down and prevent him from feeling pain.” 26/09/2021 Currently Being Assessed 25%
Ryan Sessegnon Other “improving, day by day,” No Return Date Currently Being Assessed 25%
Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva Ankle/Foot Injury Ankle Injury No Return Date Currently Being Assessed 50%

As you will have noticed, if you have been paying attention, Arsenal’s last five games have resulted in four wins and one defeat.  The goals across those games are 11 for Arsenal and five for the other clubs, which in effect means Manchester City.  And yes of course I know that the games other than Manchester City have been against lesser mortals, but you can only play who you are drawn against.

Tottenham’s last five games however only has two wins in the run – against Watford and Wolverhampton (winning the league cup tie in extra time).  They drew with Rennes in the Conference and lost to Chelsea at home in the league.

Which brings us onto the head to head, where we are still way out in front.  We’ve won 83 (that’s 41%), they have won 66 (33%), and there have been 54 draws.  So we are not in danger of losing the historic battle any time soon.

But the last 10 years have not been our best.  We have won nine, lost eight, drawn six.  Still ahead but not in the way that we used to be.

Looked at by manager we have

  • Wenger: 7 wins, 4 draws, 5 defeats (44% victory rating; 31% defeat rating)
  • Emery: 1 win, 2 draw, 1 defeat (25% victory rating; 25% defeat rating)
  • Arteta: 1 win, 0 draws, 2 defeats (33% victory rating; 66% defeat rating)
Date Game Res Score Competition Manager
2 Oct 2011 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-1 Premier League Wenger
26 Feb 2012 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 5-2 Premier League Wenger
17 Nov 2012 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 5-2 Premier League Wenger
3 Mar 2013 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-1 Premier League Wenger
1 Sep 2013 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 1-0 Premier League Wenger
4 Jan 2014 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 2-0 FA Cup Wenger
16 Mar 2014 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal W 0-1 Premier League Wenger
27 Sep 2014 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur D 1-1 Premier League Wenger
7 Feb 2015 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-1 Premier League Wenger
23 Sep 2015 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal W 1-2 League Cup Wenger
8 Nov 2015 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur D 1-1 Premier League Wenger
5 Mar 2016 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal D 2-2 Premier League Wenger
6 Nov 2016 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur D 1-1 Premier League Wenger
30 Apr 2017 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-0 Premier League Wenger
18 Nov 2017 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 2-0 Premier League Wenger
10 Feb 2018 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 1-0 Premier League Wenger
2 Dec 2018 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 4-2 Premier League Emery
19 Dec 2018 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur L 0-2 League Cup Emery
2 Mar 2019 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal D 1-1 Premier League Emery
1 Sep 2019 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur D 2-2 Premier League Emery
12 Jul 2020 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-1 Premier League Arteta
6 Dec 2020 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal L 2-0 Premier League Arteta
14 Mar 2021 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 2-1 Premier League Arteta

Our best run was from 2000 to 2008 where we had no defeats in 21 games against them. 

But we have never, since our first league match against them in 1896, had a worse run than the no wins in five games we suffered between 2 December 2018 and 6 December 2020. We lost the old Wenger magic.

More anon…

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