Bayern Munich Transfer News & Roster: Will Arjen Robben Injury Hurt Team?
Bayern Munich is in trouble. Or are they?
The team suffered the loss of Arjen Robben to injury on Sunday, and by all accounts, the superstar will be out for several weeks. He may even miss Bayern's clash with Porto in the Champions League.
Under Pep Guardiola, the German side has developed a strong team identity, but there are concerns that the team has become too predictable in attacking under the "tiki tachen" formula. Except when Arjen Robben is on the pitch.
To put this into perspective: In the Bundesliga, Robben leads the team with a whopping 17 goals on the year. He also is second on the team with seven assists. He averages 4.2 shots per game, more than any other player on the team. He averages 2.4 key passes per game, also the top on the team in this statistic; and he achieves this while averaging fewer passes per game than 11 other players on his side. He is also the team's second-leading crosser with 0.8 per game and is also tied for the most through balls per game. He is the team's top dribbler with 4.5 dribbles per game.
To put it bluntly, Munich's offense runs through Arjen Robben. His speed, his technique, his finishing abilities are as good as ever and far superior to everyone on his squad.
More importantly, Robben is doing this far better than he ever has in his entire career. The 17 goals and counting? One better than he completed in 24 games back in 2009-10; he also played more minutes in that season than he has in all of 2014-15. His seven assists are one fewer than he accumulated in 2010-11; but that year, he "only" put up 12 goals. His shots per game are the most he has ever accumulated in a Champions League season; he averaged 3.9 shots per game back in 2010-11 when he scored 12 goals and eight assists. He is winning more aerials than he ever has for Bayern Munich in Germany. His key passes per game are his second best in the Bundesliga since 2011-12 and his dribbles per game are better than they ever have been in the German League. And, in that respect, it is not even close with his second best figure coming in 2009-10 when managed four dibbles per game. He is also getting more passes per game in the Bundesliga than ever before.
Let us be clear here: Robben's injury will not hurt Munich's Bundesliga hopes. But his explosiveness, tremendous pace, relentless work rate and fascinating shots will be sorely missed by his team in games to come, particularly in the Champions League.
More importantly, when he does come back how good will he be? How long will it take for him to reach his current form after a few weeks off due to an abdominal muscle tear? Will he regain that form? How does the team cope with his loss? These are some of the many fascinating questions in store for Bayern in the next few weeks.
All stats from WhoScored.com.