Arsenal have suffered 93 injuries since start of last season as issue threatens trophy charge - Between the Lines

The manner of Arsenal's defeat to Aston Villa, sealed with effectively the last kick of the game at Villa Park, made it more painful for Mikel Arteta's side. Manchester City's subsequent win over Sunderland only intensified the angst among fans.

Their lead is down to two points. Man City, as Arsenal well know, have closed far bigger gaps. But it is still a lead. Arsenal are still looking down from the summit in the Premier League, as they are in the Champions League, with five wins from five so far.

The wider context of their season is that they have won 17 games out of 22, drawing three and losing only two. The defeat to in-form Aston Villa came after an unbeaten run of 18 games, the joint-longest by any side across Europe's major leagues this term.

It is less than two weeks since Arsenal ended the unbeaten run of the only other side to have hit that number with their 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium. But the mood has changed quickly as a familiar issue begins to bite.

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Ninety-three injuries in 18 months

In addition to being top of the Premier League and Champions League tables, Arsenal find themselves close to the top of a third, only in this case it is not a desirable position.

So far this season among Premier League sides, only Leeds have suffered more injuries than Arsenal's 26. Their current absentee list is made up of four players, including three centre-backs in William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera, and Kai Havertz.

They are not the only ones to have been affected.

Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Piero Hincapie have also faced spells on the sidelines, some with multiple setbacks. Odegaard, for example, has only just returned from a knee issue having twice injured his shoulder.

The contingent of players to have suffered injuries this season totals 14 and represents more than half of Arsenal's squad, with only a handful of senior players having managed to stay fit.

The alarming injury rate is a continuation of last season, when Arsenal lost a succession of first-team players, many of them for lengthy spells, and finished the campaign second in the injury table, with only Brighton suffering more than their 67 injuries.

Combine the last two seasons and, along with Brighton, Arsenal are one of only two sides to have accumulated more than 90 injuries.

Inevitably, there is a rush to point fingers.

The numbers put Arsenal's medical department under scrutiny. But it is difficult to apportion blame from the outside, such are the complexities of load management and injury prevention.

Has Arteta pushed players too hard? It's possible. The pattern of hamstring injuries last season suggested the players in question had been overworked. Although Arteta claimed only last week that those injuries were "out of his control". In his defence he could point to a lack of rotation options in key positions last season.

It is also worth noting the issues are not limited to Arsenal. Hamstring injuries are on the rise generally as the game becomes more intense; the schedule more packed. Bad luck comes into it too. A player landing awkwardly, such as Odegaard on his shoulder, or Mosquera on his ankle, is not necessarily indicative of a wider issue.

One thing Arsenal have in their favour this season is a far deeper squad, having added eight players for a combined £267m during the summer. But their recent dip in form shows their strength in depth is already being tested as the injury issues continue.

Injuries in clusters

It is not just the volume of injuries causing problems for Arsenal. They continue to suffer injuries in positional clusters too.

Last season, it was most apparent up front, with Havertz tearing his hamstring in February after another injury to Jesus had increased the burden on him as the side's only available striker.

A similar situation occurred at right-back, as injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and White ensured a punishing schedule for Jurrien Timber, who had to undergo surgery on an ankle issue in May.

Arsenal paid the price for leaving themselves short in certain positions last season, particularly up front. But the problem of clustered injuries has resurfaced this term.

An injury to Havertz at the start of the season left Gyokeres with a heavier-than-planned load. He then hurt his groin, with midfielder Mikel Merino having to fill in up front as he did last season.

Merino performed admirably in the role but, having been required to start seven consecutive games in the space of a month for Arsenal, either side of another two starts for Spain, he was taken off at half-time in Saturday's loss Aston Villa, clearly fatigued.

Meanwhile, at centre-back, the issue has been even clearer, with Arsenal losing Gabriel, Saliba and Mosquera in the space of a few weeks, in turn making it impossible to rotate Timber, who has had to move across to centre-back, or ease in Hincapie following his return from a groin problem, therefore risking further setbacks.

Of course, injuries to key players are difficult to manage in themselves, before even considering the knock-on effects.

The loss of both first-choice centre-backs Gabriel and Saliba has been particularly damaging, with Arsenal conceding in four games out of five since the former's injury, suffered on international duty with Brazil, having only done so in four out of 17 previously.

Arteta's side were able to secure emphatic wins over Spurs and Bayern Munich without one of the two in Gabriel, but the instability caused by losing both was obvious at Villa Park, as Timber and Hincapie became Arsenal's sixth different centre-back pairing to start a game in all competitions this season.

Arsenal allowed chances worth 2.16 expected goals in the game, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of their overall total this season and underlining how uncharacteristically vulnerable they were.

A reset required?

It doesn't help that all this has occurred during such a busy period of the season. Arsenal have faced Spurs and Bayern Munich at home and Chelsea and Aston Villa away in quick succession.

It would be a challenging run of games even at maximum capacity and it has clearly taken a toll, which is why it's vital for Arteta to conserve the energy of his players where he can, starting with Wednesday's Champions League game against Club Brugge.

Having taken a maximum of 15 points from their first five league phase games, and knowing 16 points was enough for the all-important top-eight finish last season, Arsenal can afford to rotate and prioritise Saturday's Premier League game against Wolves.

By that point, Arsenal may have some of their injured players back. Saliba was described as being only "days" away from returning to fitness before the Aston Villa game, while Gabriel and Havertz might also come into contention based on Arteta's recent comments.

After the Wolves game, Arsenal have the rare luxury of a free midweek before their trip to Goodison Park to face Everton the following Saturday. It is something they have not had since August, excluding international breaks, and represents a chance to reset, and to slow what is surely an unsustainable rate of injuries.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Arsenal have suffered 93 injuries since start of last season as issue threatens trophy charge - Between the Lines