By Bulldog Drummond
Arsenal really do seem to be at the bottom of the Premier League for injuries! According to the Premier League injury site the ranking is (and for a change I shall move from the bottom to the top)
- Arsenal: 1
- Tottenham Hotspur: 2
- West Ham United: 2
- Brentford: 3
- Leicester City 3
- Liverpool: 3
- Manchester City: 3
- Watford: 3
- West Ham United: 3
- Chelsea: 4
- Manchester United: 4
- Aston Villa: 5
- Brighton and Hove Albion: 5
- Burnley: 5
- Norwich City: 5
- Southampton: 5
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5
- Newcastle United: 6
- Leeds United: 7
- Everton: 8
Now what you will have noticed is that the top four teams in terms of having the fewest injuries are all London teams. Clearly it is the clean air and healthy lifestyle that does it.
Our one man down is of course Xhaka, and at present the return date is put as Boxing day – which is when we play Norwich City away.
Brighton and Hove’s men down and out are, according to Physioroom
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Potential Return | Condition | Status |
| Adam Webster | Thigh Injury | Sept 17: “Adam we are probably looking the other side of the international break.” | 16/10/2021 | None | Ruled Out |
| Yves Bissouma | Knee Injury | Sept 30: “Bissouma is making progress, that will be a decision later in the week.” | 02/10/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 75% |
| Enock Mwepu | Groin/Hip/Pelvic Injury | Sept 22: “He felt his groin a little bit. It probably was one of those we could have taken a chance on, but we weren’t sure about one or two others it didn’t feel like it was worth the risk.” | 02/10/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 50% |
| Steven Alzate | Ankle/Foot Injury | Sept 28: “Steven looked quite a bad one. He rolled his ankle and somebody also landed on it. We will see how it goes in the next 24-48 hours but it’s not a fantastic first diagnosis.” | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
| Danny Welbeck | Thigh Injury | Sept 30: “Danny is seeing a specialist.” | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
Poor Danny Welbeck – he really does seem to get those injuries.
We noted in the previous article that Brighton and Hove have not played any of the traditional Big Six this season so in that regard they have not completely been tested. Here are their home games so far…
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Aug 2021 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Watford | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 28 Aug 2021 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Everton | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 19 Sep 2021 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Leicester City | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 22 Sep 2021 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Swansea City | W | 2-0 | League Cup |
Our problem of course is our away form, where thus far we have only scored one goal. I suspect we might need more than that. But this would indeed be a good day to start.
So what about those all important fouls, tackles and yellow cards…
| Club | Tackles | Fouls | Yellows |
| Arsenal | 94 | 54 | 9 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 124 | 55 | 15 |
| Brighton excess cf Arsenal | +32% | +2% | +67% |
So Brighton tackle 32% more than we do, but only get 2% more fouls against them, and yet get 67% more yellows. Does that make sense?
As for the ratios
| Club | Tackles per foul | Tackles per yellow | Fouls per yellow |
| Arsenal | 1.74 | 10.44 | 6.00 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 2.25 | 8.26 | 3.66 |
Now it gets really weird. They commit more tackles before a foul is called. But when a foul is called they are much more likely to have it turned into a yellow card.
So the key thing for Arsenal is to put on an extra pair of shin pads and just let the ref get on with handing out the yellow cards, even if some of the tackles which could be called as fouls are not.
As a footnote, I am also starting to suspect that a larger percentage of the injuries received by players are in fact self-inflicted from tackles which go wrong. If that’s the case we need just to let them get on with it and let the ref take the action needed.
With 15 yellow cards against Brighton in six matches, the chances are that by the end of the game they might have three players on a yellow, all taking it that little bit more cautiously, giving us a chance to nick a couple of late goals.
Brighton v Arsenal: an apology, last 10 games, home and away, transfers
I feel sorry for Xhaka. From his first game for Arsenal The Funsters’ or to give them their offical term ‘punsters’ and all other Arsenal ‘Gloomers’ he has been the main cause for the disaster which they say Arsenal are in.
He has been a true professional always giving 100% for Arsenal no matter the dirt thrown at him. Now this injury.
By the time he is fit to play again, it is more than likely another player will have established himself in Xhaka’s place and Xhaka will find himself 2nd pick instead of 1st pick. Sometimes life stinks.
As for the game, we can be certain that Brighton unlike the funsters will not deny the feast of football that was set before their eyes on Sunday and will be prepared for the true Arsenal. Not the wished for Arsenal of the doomers and gloomers.
I am loopking forward to the game.
Hey Bulldog,
With almost half the EPL teams located in the ‘South’, this might be a good season to track the anti-South bias of the PGMOL. I scan the tables posted on UA and look for a way to illustrate this but hunting down the stats or even the websites to find the stats is a bit daunting in my declining years, lol. Might you at UA have a go it or refer me to previous posts that might have the data?