Arsenal’s injury-stricken season has claimed another player.
For a club who are preparing for a Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid, losing their most important defender was the last thing they needed. The injury also all but extinguishes their hopes for the Premier League title, as Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Everton yesterday means that Arsenal remains 12 points behind the league leaders in second place, with 8 games remaining. Their last realistic chance for a trophy this season is the Champions League.
Manager Mikel Arteta now faces a defensive nightmare. Jurrien Timber also had an issue vs. Fulham and is questionable. Ben White and new signing Riccardo Calafiori remain out injured for an unspecified amount of time. Takehiro Tomiyasu is out for the season. It leaves the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior to offer defensive depth. This is far from ideal, to say the least. Their remaining healthy center-back, William Saliba, tends to play worse without his Brazilian counterpart.
Defense isn’t the only area of the pitch of the Gunners have experienced injury crisis. The manager has dealt with recurring injuries to key players like Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard, who have also spent a considerable amount of time on the sidelines this season. Arsenal’s medical team is under scrutiny as yet another hamstring injury — a recurring setback amongst the squad — has begun to raise questions about training protocols
Arsenal’s next Premier League match is on April 5th at Everton. The club will then face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal three days later.
