Arsenal News, Roster & Transfer Rumors: Mesut Ozil Injured; Depth of Team Will Be Tested
Arsenal is in huge trouble.
The team, which seemingly had some depth after a busy summer, is now lacking it greatly. And that is the result of what seems like an annual injury bug for the Gunners. The latest victim is Mesut Ozil and it seems that he could be gone for approximately three months.
Ozil's injury is just the latest in a series of bad news for the German. He has lacked confidence since last December and has continued to look like a huge waste of money for the Gunners. Earlier this summer, Arsene Wenger famously stated that he did not need Cesc Fabregas because he had Ozil. Seven games into the English Premier League, Fabregas has seven assists and Ozil has one goal and one assist.
Aside from Ozil, the team is now without Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Yaya Sanogo, Serge Gnarby and Theo Walcott. Of these players, only Walcott and Gnarby are near return. Walcott is a huge asset when he gets back, but he is also due for a yearly injury. Last season he ended his year early with a major injury during a Cup match, so it would not be surprising if he suddenly collapsed again this year.
The remainder of the players mentioned are out for months at a time.
This is a terrible misfortune for the team, but it is rather predictable at this point. Injuries happen in a contact sport like this one. And especially in the brutal Premier League. But at some point, there have to be concerns about what is going on at the Emirates in North London. Every year, Arsenal is faced with major injuries from major players. Ramsey seems addicted to getting injured at this point, as is Walcott. Ozil went through an injury last season and almost every major player on the team has missed time due to some sort of ailment over the last few years.
Is this on Arsenal? Is there a problem with the player preparations? Is there an issue with how Arsene Wenger conditions his players?
The bigger issue here, of course, is how Arsenal is going to move forward in this situation. The team has enough solid pieces to close up some holes and keep the team afloat. Wenger did a good job of shoring up some depth this summer for this kind of situation, and now, his experiment will be put to the test. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin and fit in on a wing while the likes of Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Thomas Rosicky are the midfield trio. Alexis Sanchez can play on the wing or up top while Joel Campbell (assuming Wenger decides to play him) leads the line. Abou Diaby could also get a chance to prove his worth somewhere in there.
But what happens if, God forbid, yet another one of these players picks up a crippling knock that leaves them out for weeks on end? It couldn't happen right? It wasn't supposed to happen to Debuchy, Ozil, Giroud or Ramsey either. And yet, here they are again. And this time the team needs a huge boost from somewhere.
Arsenal is currently in eighth place in the Premier League with 10 points. There are a total of six teams with 10 or 11 points in the standings at the moment, meaning that any drop in points could push the team back to the bottom of the table. The Gunners have only won twice in seven tries and have struggled to score goals. The team has only scored 11 goals thus far this season while conceding nine. That is not the recipe for success.
When the league resumes after the international break, fans will actually find out what this team is made of. Hopefully it isn't glass.
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