Five days before the end of the 2015 summer transfer window Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had said that striker Danny Welbeck would be back to full training in a week’s time. However we needed a new striker anyway and Edinson Cavani was linked with us on the deadline day but no deal was struck on the deadline day and it seemed as though Wenger was happy with the current set of strikers namely Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott who primarily plays as a winger.
But a day after the summer transfer window officially closed the club’s website had given out a statement stating that Welbeck underwent a knee surgery and would be out for at least three months. This left many Arsenal fans fuming as the club released two entirely different statements in a space of just one week regarding Welbeck. Hence Welbeck was added to the treatment room which already had the likes of Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky who were out for months as well.
Czech International midfielder Tomas Rosicky was injured way back in June during his side’s group A Euro 2016 qualifier against Iceland and has been on the sidelines since then. He had undergone a knee surgery back in July and is still trying to regain full match fitness. Though he is 34, Rosicky plays a crucial part in Wenger’s plans for the season. He is a valuable addition as far as our squad depth is concerned. His latest knee injury has left Ozil as our only recognizable CAM with Santi Cazorla shifting to the CM role and Ramsey playing as a right winger.
Meanwhile Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere looked set to have a breakthrough season this season after putting up some impressive National team performances. However his injury curse continued after he was injured during training by a Gabriel Paulista tackle and suffered a hairline crack in his calf bone. Following that incident he underwent an ankle surgery and is set to miss the remaining part of this year. Just when he showed signs of impressing this season this ankle injury of his has left Arsene Wenger short of reliable options.
Recently Arsenal’s first choice Centre Back Per Mertesacker had a chest infection and was sidelined for five important matches. He missed four Premier League matches including matches against Liverpool (home) and Chelsea (away). He also missed our 1-2 Champions League group stage loss to Croatian club GNK Dinamo Zagreb. He was out for 20 crucial days due to the unexpected chest infection. Just when Per returned to first team action yesterday against Spurs in the Capital One cup, Arsenal’s 24-year old CDM Francis Coquelin has suffered a knee injury and will be out for an unknown period depending upon the seriousness of the injury.
Coquelin is the best defensive midfielder we have right now and he is one of the few names who automatically find a place in the team sheet. If his injury becomes any serious Wenger will definitely have to face serious problems as Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini cannot match Coquelin’s level of aggressiveness and agility. Already with players like Wilshere, Rosicky and Welbeck out for months, if Coquelin suffers the same fate as them it would be a major setback for the club as the winter transfer window is still three months away.
Finally moving on to the Welbeck injury, we all know that he was injured way back in May last season in training and hasn’t returned since then. He had torn ligaments behind his knee cap and was set to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season. However he was touted to become fit on time to play from the very beginning of the 2015-16 season. But his knee only became worse with each training session and eventually he was forced to undergo a knee surgery. This means that he will have to spend at least another three months on the sidelines. Hence Giroud and Walcott are our only striker options at least until the January transfer window.
Injuries and Arsenal is still a better love story than Twilight. The Arsenal fitness team has been putting in so much effort to reduce the number of injuries. But the injury curse just doesn’t seem to leave us alone. Let us hope and wish that all our injured players return sooner than expected.
