Arsenal have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League after getting past Sporting CP over two legs.
That is a huge achievement as it is the first time in the Gunners’ 140-year history that they have reached back-to-back semi-finals in the competition.
Despite getting over the line while largely being in control of the two legs, the usual pundits have questioned the way Arsenal are playing.
Troy Deeney is one of them, and he has made a claim that is completely off the mark.
Simple question: How do Arsenal win the Champions League from here?
Through to the semi-finals, but the performance was not good enough…
Troy Deeney ridiculously says Arsenal have had ‘minimal injuries’ this season
Mikel Arteta has been at Arsenal for over six years now, and he has transformed the club.
The Spaniard has made the Gunners genuine contenders for the biggest trophies, and he deserves all the praise in the world for that.
Despite that, Arteta is criticised more than any other manager in the world, and Deeney is one of those pundits who almost always has something to say.
After the game on Wednesday night, the former Watford man questioned what Arsenal still need to improve and suggested that their manager has already been given everything required to succeed.
Deeney believes there are no real excuses left for any dip in performance because Arsenal now have one of the strongest squads in world football. He also compared the current team to previous seasons, highlighting improvements in discipline.
However, one particular comment stood out more than anything else – he thinks Arsenal haven’t had many injuries this season.
Deeney said on CBS Sports: “If it’s going the way that it is, then what is there more to improve? You’ve got the best squad, man for man, in world football in my opinion. Every single position they’ve got one, two and three, and all of them are internationals.
“If they drop Raya, they’ve got Kepa, who was brought for, what, £70-£80m. Every position you look at, they have got players who can do it. Before, there was no striker. Now, they’ve got Gyokeres, Havertz and Jesus. All internationals, all will go to the World Cup.
“So they have got squad depth. They have got no sendings off as well, that was two years ago. They have had minimal injuries this year.
“What is there to get better at? Does it have to be the style of play? That you could’ve fixed over the last five years. I would think the questions start to change towards him. But as a whole, I think he has done a very good job.”
🏆👀 I am feeling __% confident that Arsenal will win the Premier League title this season…
Data shows Troy Deeney’s comments on Arsenal’s injuries is completely untrue
The idea that Arsenal have had minimal injuries this season is simply not correct.
The Gunners have suffered 26 separate injury incidents involving 19 different players in 2025/26. That means nearly 80 per cent of the squad has been sidelined at some point during the campaign.
Those injuries have resulted in more than 400 days lost, which is a significant number. It has forced Arteta to constantly adjust his lineup.
Key players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze have all missed important games, and their absence has had a direct impact on some results.
Arsenal also rank third in the list of the worst-affected teams in the Premier League in terms of total injury volume.
Deeney clearly just made the statement about Arsenal for the sake of it. He put no effort into his analysis and probably echoed someone’s thoughts on social media instead.
That’s yet another reason why comments from these pundits should never be taken seriously.
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