Ray Parlour questions reasons for Arsenal injury crisis

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Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has expressed his concern over the current injury situation at the club.

The injury situation at Arsenal is becoming increasingly serious. Prior to Sunday’s north London derby kicking off, the Gunners already had Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard sidelined with fitness concerns of varying severity.

Midfielder Declan Rice was then substituted at half-time due to an injury concern, before Bukayo Saka limped off late on.

Despite investing heavily this summer, including spending £105 million on Rice and £38 million on Timber, to give the squad extra depth, Mikel Arteta’s options are now looking thin.

It could be that Rice, Trossard, Martinelli, and Saka are all ok to return to action very soon, but until the players have been thoroughly assessed this is not guaranteed.

In any case, the rate at which Arsenal are picking up injuries will be very concerning to Arteta. The Gunners are going to be playing plenty of games this season, and the club need to be able to nurse and manage their stars through the gruelling schedule.

Arsenal need to get game time balance right

Ray Parlour is certainly worried that these injuries could derail Arsenal’s season, and believes the club need to find a solution. Speaking on TalkSport, he said, “it’s a bit of a worry. I just don’t understand all the injuries.”

“They’re really looked after now, players…going back to my career, I can’t remember 6/7 players being injured at once.”

“Whether it’s the pitches being a little bit more firmer now, I don’t know…maybe training is a bit more intense now…whether they’re a bit more flimsy, players now, because we were a bit tougher, if I’m being honest.”

If there is an internal issue, perhaps in training or how player recovery is managed, then the club need to get to the bottom of it immediately.

Arteta may also have to consider rotating his starting XI with greater regularity. Saka, especially, plays so many minutes for the club, starting week in, week out, and features heavily at international level as well. He needs to be afforded time to rest at every opportunity.

In the meantime though, Arsenal fans will be desperately hoping that some of their key figures can get back to full fitness as quickly as possible.