Peter Le Beau
As you do, I have been embroiled in debates with fellow Arsenal fans about the direction of the club recently. As I write we are second in the League, albeit it a very long way behind Chelsea and awaiting a Cup Final we should win. It's often disastrous to write articles like this at a point in time when afterwards it all could go terribly wrong, but we have reason to feel that we have made progress on last year and the years of seeming only to be contending for the ' fourth place trophy'.
If I could divert here it's interesting to reflect on our near neighbours as St. Totteringham's Day beckons yet again. They are rapidly reaching the twentieth successive season where they have finished behind us. When they have to finance and build a new stadium - and relocate in the process – may they reflect on the fact that we financed a stadium over ten years ago and always finished above them, despite a massive financial burden.
But that's not my main point today. In our discussions where a lot of clear ‘Wenger Out' campaigners had moved their position to 'No further contract after this one expires', we were looking at whether it is realistic to think that with a summer of positive team building - and I would define that as signing at least two very high quality players, possibly three, and not losing any pivotal players, we could contemplate a proper title challenge. I think most Arsenal fans feel that the big improvement this season has been built on a much tighter tactical approach away from home and most believe that the addition of a holding midfielder, of the sort we have been crying out for years is a crucial element. It is supremely ironic that the very sort of player we needed has been playing for us for the last six years. Serendipity or meticulous preparation? I think most of us feel the former applies!
There is a degree of optimism that the club is on a better and stronger path than it has been for many years but sadly I still see one major cloud.
A lot of supporters rejoiced when we tied our home grown contingent to long contracts. Theo is a slight variant but it was clear that the club had a plan and most supporters were positive that the home grown core would provide the basis of our next team. Wilshere, Oxlade- Chamberlain, Ramsey, Gibbs and Walcott are all excellent players with much potentially to contribute to the club. But if you pick our best eleven (and that is a highly contentious process!) how many of that group make it into your team? From my perspective only Ramsey would be in serious contention although a fit Oxlade- Chamberlain adds much to the team. But there I've said it! A fit Oxlade–Chamberlain. If you look at that quintet it would be hard to find a more injury prone group in English football. Wilshere has had constant ankle problems for the last three seasons which have substantially derailed his progress. He is ready for a first team return after six months out following an injury against Manchester United. Oxlade-Chamberlain is a powerful and exciting presence but needs a regular run in the team to underline his value. Anyone who saw what appeared to be a relatively trivial incident at Manchester United will be surprised to hear that he is likely to be out for the rest of the season. Another FA Cup Final missed. He missed a large chunk of last season after being injured on the opening day during that horrendous match with Villa. Aaron Ramsey saw last season's stellar campaign derailed by an injury at West Ham on Boxing Day that kept him out until April. This season he has had at least three spells on the sideline. Another fragile bloom it seems although any discussion of Ramsey has to take into account the horrendous damage done to his leg and his whole constitution by that infamous Shawcross tackle.
Kieran Gibbs' Arsenal career has been peppered by injuries. This season he has had no long lay- offs but you have to expect him to be injured around three or four times a season. Which brings us to Theo. Theo was injured in the Spurs cup tie in January last year and was out for about a year. He has been with us for nine years, has missed two Wembley finals and now finds himself struggling to get into a team that has adjusted to life without him. The day he got injured he produced one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt as he and Gnabry ripped Spurs' defence to shreds with their pace and incisive running. But Theo misses around half of every season with injuries, many of which occur on England duty. Jack Wilshere's long- term injury problems started after playing for England against Switzerland at Wembley.
Two big imponderables emerge from this litany of regular injuries. Firstly is there something in the conditioning of young British players that makes them especially vulnerable to injury or is it the Arsenal conditioning that is the problem? And secondly, given their regular absences season after season can we ever expect this British core to become the heartbeat of the club and basis of the side?
We have had untold debates about injuries at Arsenal. Sanchez has been run into the ground this season and played almost every game as has Cazorla who plays roughly where Ramsey and Wilshere play and has avoided serious injury. British players are not the only ones who get injured. We have had plenty of French players struggling with injuries this season but analysis of the injuries suffered by the British contingent provides serious food for thought and suggests a similar fate may befall any other players coming through the ranks of the club. Have we really got a conditioning problem that increases the likelihood of home grown players being unable to fulfill their promise and lest we think that this applies to British players only let us consider the case if Serge Gnabry who has been with us for a number of years but has only just returned to fitness after many months out with injury.
Speculating about injuries at Arsenal is not new but could it be that Arsenal are producing young players, schooled by the club, or taken at an early age from another club and integrated into the Arsenal system who are not fit for purpose, no pun intended! It will be interesting to see the impact of Shad Forsythe, the fitness coach taken from the German World Cup winning squad. It is galling to note how few injuries Tottenham have suffered, bearing in mind that they have played more games (albeit several of them relatively meaningless) than any other English club.
We can speculate all we like about our chances next season but on the basis of the last five seasons any title triumph would have to be achieved primarily by a squad of players born and brought into the game outside the Arsenal system. We might love the idea of a British core but sadly that British core has a very soft centre. Food for serious thought I hope before next season.
