Injuries give Arsenal reserves a chance to impress
Last season when Arsenal had their usual glut of injuries, we saw Hector Bellerin come through from the reserves to emerge as a star, and we also recalled Francis Coquelin from Charlton which was an even bigger success.
Now we are in this season’s injury crisis, and Wenger is finding it hard to explain why Arsenal always seem to suffer so much. “You could analyse many things: the pitches, the pace of the game, the intensity inside the game has gone up,” he said. “But there are as well mental components, physiological components in injuries, emotions in your private life that can have an impact on muscular injuries.
“It’s not as rational and mathematical as people think. You try to master all the scientific aspects but there are as well some irrational factors in injuries sometimes. For example, Cazorla and Coquelin are traumatic injuries. What can you do about that? Nothing.
“Ideally you want them all to be with you but we are prepared to deal with it. It is a big miss with players like that but it is a opportunity for players to come in and fill in and show they have the quality and that they are fresh and that can give a good impact to the team.”
So today we will have a chance to see if Kieran Gibbs, Joel Campbell, and maybe even Calum Chambers and The Ox could come in and finally prove they are worth an extended run in the starting XI. Who do you think will be our newest rising star?
