Arsenal still stocked with crocks

So Ozil's out, is he? For 10-12 weeks with a partially ruptured collateral left-knee ligament. Wow! Here we go again.

Newly recruited fitness and recovery coach Shad Forsythe was supposed to put a stop to all this injury nonsense. Instead, we're still stocked with crocks and unable to fire our one smoking barrel on that famous cannon.

Look how many games we've had players out injured for (according to The Sun) in 2014.
Theo (knee) 37 and counting (until the end of October)
Diaby (knee, hip) 35
Rambo (thigh, hamstring) 21
Bendtner (ankle) 19
Sanogo (hamstring, thigh) 15
Wilshere (foot, ankle) 13
Monreal (ankle, back) 12
Gibbs (ankle, hamstring) 12
Gnabry (knee) 12
Giroud (ankle, shin) 11
Vermaelen (knee, hamstring) 11
Kallstrom (back) 10
Arteta (calf, ankle) 8
Ozil (thigh, hamstring) 8
Ox (groin) 6
Debuchy (ankle) 5
Koscielny (hamstring) 4
Flames (thigh) 3
Rosicky (nose, thigh) 3
Ospina (hip) 3

Interestingly, Ryo Miyaichi's missed games don't make the list; while not a shoo-in for Premier League games, he could have been on the bench occasionally, if fit.

Also, I'd dispute that Rosicky has only missed 3 games this year through injury. That can't be right. Okay, maybe he's not as seemingly in love with the sickbay as he once was, but it's hard to believe he's had such a clean bill of health.

Meanwhile, I can't believe some fans are saying we're better off without Ozil. If that's true, it's only because Wenger persists in playing him on the wing. Perhaps other players are more able to play there and contribute both defensively and in an attacking sense than Ozil is.

So perhaps it will seem we're better off, when the fixture list is kinder and our out-of-position star is out of action. As long as Ozil's replacement isn't Rosicky or Diaby, I really can imagine results improving.

The one thing I'm not sure about is Ozil's comeback. Sometimes injuries last as long as club's want them to. If you have a captain who's not your first-choice, why not say he's injured rather than dropped. Will something similar happen with Ozil? Mmm, well, nothing surprises me in the cloak or should it be 'crock' and dagger game of football.

Sent from my iPhone