Can Arsenal Overcome Key Injuries to Stay in the Premier League Title Race?
This weekend couldn’t have gone much better for Arsenal. The Gunners managed to capitalize on a slip up by Manchester City and boost their chances of winning the Premier League title, even at this early stage of the season.
The current champions were in action in the lunchtime kickoff on Saturday, as they took on Newcastle United at St. James Park. Things went perfect for us, as they would only be able to stumble to a 1-1 draw, dropping points for the second time this season and in back-to-back games.
Of course, there will have been many in north London that would have been expecting the worst. Given the opportunity, there would have been some who would have thought the Gunners wouldn’t capitalize. And they were almost proven right.
We needed the additional stoppage time to get back ahead against Leicester City to make sure we took all three points and pull level with the Cityzens in the race for the title. Although we’re still only six games into the season, it was incredibly important.
Key injuries to Arsenal
Given the results of the weekend, Arsenal have edged ahead in the latest Premier League betting odds. Bookies have the Gunners priced at 2.30, with Pep Guardiola’s side priced just behind them at 3.00. It’s a change to the odds that were available prior to the weekend’s games, with the two teams flipped.
However, if Arsenal are to remain the favorites and go all the way, they are going to need to overcome the injuries that they have experienced to key players.
Martin Odegaard’s injury is one that will test the club. Having injured his ankle during the international break with Norway, he is expected to miss significant time. There are suggestions that it could be as long as after November’s international break before he is back available. This could see him miss numerous league games, including matches against Liverpool (home), Newcastle (away), and Chelsea (away). Three huge games that could have an impact on the title race.
Mikel Merino still isn’t ready to debut with the club since signing from Real Sociedad, after fracturing his shoulder in one of his first training sessions. He should return before Odegaard, but it could take him some time to get up to speed.
Injuries in defence are a problem for Arteta’s side at the moment. Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all out. Each of them is expected to miss some time, meaning the defence can be a little light on the ground at the moment, especially out wide.
Man City also have injury woes
If there is any silver lining to the injuries that Arsenal have, it’s probably the fact that Man City haven’t been blessed with a clean bill of health, either.
As we saw in the 2-2 draw between the two sides, Rodri suffered an injury. News has since broken suggesting that he could be out for the remainder of the season, which could be good news for Arsenal in their pursuit of the title. The Spaniard is arguably the best midfielder in the world at the moment, and he will be a huge loss to his team.
Equally, there have been injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake that could also prove to be costly. The Belgian playmaker’s absence has been felt in the past and his quality is undeniable in the final third. With it taken away, it’s possible they may struggle to create the chances that Erling Haaland thrives upon.
Will Arsenal be able to thrive?
Of course, Pep’s team has dealt with significant injuries before. He highlighted the absences his team has had to deal with in their quest for the title in previous seasons and how they have overcome them.
It’s something that the Gunners are going to need to make sure they do. If they are to have any chance of winning the title, they are going to need to make sure they capitalize on any opportunities that are presented to them.
We were perfect for 95% of the season last year but slipped up when it mattered most. Arteta cannot afford for the same thing to happen again.
