Will our squad ever be at full strength?

[CKD39]

There are always several long term casualties that we're always waiting on to return. When <insert player(s)> returns, another batch go down with long term injuries.

Start of the season, "Wait till Nasri, Walcott and Rosicky come back!"

They're back. Now Bendtner, van Persie, Clichy, Gibbs and Djourou are down for the long run.

And I'm sure when they come back another few players will go down with long term injuries. Wenger, if you're serious about some silverware you need to dip into the market because this team will never have a full squad of players to choose from.

 

[Raider]

Thats football for you.

When was the last time we had our strongest 11 available?

Been years.

 

[Iloveyouarsenewenger]

With the high number of injury prone players we have, the amount of matches we play, the internationals that almost all our players play, I'm afraid it is improbable to find all or all of the important players fit at one time.

 

[arsenalsocks]

Other big clubs seem to manage it though.

 

[thegame24]

No they dont.

 

[CKD39]

Other big clubs are usually near full strength, there will be a player or two out with injuries but with us it seems to be several... all the time. Just thinking back the last time we had a near full strength squad to choose from was probably somewhere in 2003 or something.

 

[arsenalsocks]

No they dont.

Barcelona usually do it, not at the moment, or at that CL final, but they still did uptil Ibra and Messi got injured.

Same's the case with R. Madrid.

Liverpool usually have Gerrard and Torres at the same time, which is mainly why they're usually at the top.

 

[Biggus]

The strongest 11 concept is a myth, with 60-70 games a season nearly every player will be involved at some point or other maybe even in some very important games at the end of the season.
Thats why its important why we have as strong a squad as possible.

 

[thegame24]

For 5 months at a time?

I dont think so.

Last year was ade and fabs, id like to see another team try and challenge with more than 3 month injuries to top players at same time.

 

[arsenalsocks]

Wait, I meant, other big clubs seem to manage having most of their strongest 11 fit,

not manage to challenge with multiple injuries of the sort we have.

 

[OohtobeaGoonerGal]

Liverpool usually have Gerrard and Torres at the same time, which is mainly why they're usually at the top.

Top of where? But back to the question, it will be impossible to have a fully fit team I feel, because we simply have too many smaller more injury-prone players.

It is no coincedence that someone like Drogba will be fit for our match tomorrow after a suspected rib injury, whereas if that was one of ours we can say goodbye to him for at least a month, but one reason could be that other players' builds are much stronger.

 

[arsenalsocks]

Top4.

 

[True Gooner]

The strongest 11 concept is a myth, with 60-70 games a season nearly every player will be involved at some point or other maybe even in some very important games at the end of the season.
Thats why its important why we have as strong a squad as possible.

Is it too much to ask for the strongest 11 at least once a season? I get your point but the fact that we've probably put out our best 11 around 10 times in 5 years is worrying. Obviously it's partly down to relying on crocks but we've picked up a few ridiculous injuries as well.


2004/2005 - Vieira/Gilberto/Edu missed a lot of the season
2005/2006 - Cole and Clichy out for most of the season. Lauren and Campbell were out from Janurary - I don't even think we got to see Lauren play after the ACN. RvP injured as well. Diaby broke his leg
2006/2007 - RvP and Henry out for the best part of the campaign.
2007/2008 - RvP, Rosicky, Walcott(?). I'm not counting Eduardo because he only missed the last month - his injury was a mental blow more than anything.
2008/2009 - Walcott, Fabregas, Adebayor out for long spells.

I'm not even counting the likes of Diaby, Djourou etc because they're not starters.

And the pattern looks set to continue.

No doubt that we could have done with a stronger squad during that time but, like it or not, when your starting 11 players get injured their replacements will be of a lesser quality - or else why would they be replacements in the first place? Granted a good squad should cope with injures but how many injuries? There's always a saturation point - we could cope with RvP's absence for 6-7 weeks but try to get by without him for 5 months? That's a lot harder.

And I think if you look at teams who have won titles in recent history you'll find that the teams who've won titles have had their best players play 45+ games for them.

 

[CKD39]

The strongest 11 concept is a myth, with 60-70 games a season nearly every player will be involved at some point or other maybe even in some very important games at the end of the season.
Thats why its important why we have as strong a squad as possible.

Several times a season you will see a top team field out a strongest 11. I can't remember the last time we did.

 

[Thommybhoy]

2007/2008 - RvP, Rosicky, Walcott(?). I'm not counting Eduardo because he only missed the last month - his injury was a mental blow more than anything.

Eduardo got injured on 20something of February, so it was more than a month.

 

[Iloveyouarsenewenger]

Liverpool usually have Gerrard and Torres at the same time, which is mainly why they're usually at the top.

Top of where? But back to the question, it will be impossible to have a fully fit team I feel, because we simply have too many smaller more injury-prone players.

It is no coincedence that someone like Drogba will be fit for our match tomorrow after a suspected rib injury, whereas if that was one of ours we can say goodbye to him for at least a month, but one reason could be that other players' builds are much stronger.

Which brings us back to the enigma that is Vassiriki Abou Diaby.

I don't think it has much to do with the size. But, yeah, we have more injury-prone players.

 

[MAK 14]

My mate was telling me just this morning that we hadn't had a fully fit team out on the pitch since 2004. At first I didn't believe him, but I did some thinking and I think it may be true. I honestly can't remember us putting out a full strength side since around 2004.

Anyway, it's inevitable that you'll get injuries quite a lot at Arsenal now. I've gotten to the stage where i'm more bothered about how the players react to them, than the injuries in the first place.

Edit: Sorry True Gooner, just read your post! Proved my mate was right.

 

[Anzac]

The last time we had a relatively injury free season was 'The Invincibles' was it not????

 

[True Gooner]

The last time we had a relatively injury free season was 'The Invincibles' was it not????

Yep. Vieira was our only really injury worry from our first 11 and I think he was only out for a month and a half.

 

[CKD39]

The last time we had a relatively injury free season was 'The Invincibles' was it not????

Yep. Vieira was our only really injury worry from our first 11 and I think he was only out for a month and a half.

Parlour and Edu stepped up magnificently during that time, anyway.

But now, not only do we have first team players getting injured but we also have their replacement squad players getting injured so we have to rely on out of position players and children.