Why do Arsenal get so many injuries?

Every season Arsenal seem to challenge for the title before falling off around February and finishing fourth or third. Many people say that this is because they cannot handle big games, but most people say it is because of the number of injuries the Gunners pick up. This is true as they have picked up the second most amount of injuries in the premier league since 2007 after Manchester United. This trend has carried on this season with Arsenal racking up 28 injuries after picking up 35 last season. Compare this to Chelsea who won the league last year with only 19 injuries. So why do this injuries happen year in year out for the Gunners?

Most people used to put the blame on Arsenal's injury woes due to opposition players going out to purposefully kick Arsenal off the park in the hope it would put them off their game especially when the Gunners were away. This used to be true with players such as Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo suffering horrendous leg breaks after some hard challenges. This trend does seem to be continuing with 39% of Arsenal's injuries coming away from home compared to the 14% of injuries suffered at home. However the root of the problem is deeper, with referees stamping down on the challenges. Arsenal's leading man on the medical team is Colin Lewin. Lewin has been the head of the medical team since 2008 having been recommended by George Armstrong, and he focuses on sports science techniques. Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health from cellular to whole body perspectives. He runs the pre-season training and then during the Christmas period known as 'the maintenance period.'  The maintenance season requires training over two weeks which is mostly warming downs, stretches and recovery with very little physical work. Towards the end of the maintenance period the club will start to focus on core strength targeting the muscles in the pelvis and torso in the aim to avoid injuries. However this is where one of the problems come into play. Players are not allowed to life weights a two days before the game in case of injuring a core muscle. However Arsene Wenger used to allow William Gallas to do this as he said 'it got him ready for the game,' however this failed as shown by Gallas being in the physio room a lot during his time at Arsenal.

Wenger's training methods are another reason for injuries as he focuses on short but intense training sessions. This can lead to players injuring certain muscles in there body and being out for a few weeks. However this is where the real problem comes in, because in my opinion the managing of the players injuries by Lewin is done poorly. Firstly he fails to judge the true extent on an injury with Alex Oxlade Chamberlaine admitting to lying about feeling ready for the game just to help the team out. Throughout there recovery from injury Lewin keeps up fitness by making them do running in the pool or use the anti-gravity treadmill machine, however this is not the best way to recover from a muscle injury as it aggravates it leading to players like Danny Welbeck being out longer than they should. This is backed up by the fact that 28% of Arsenal's injuries this season are muscle injuries. 
 

The poor managing of the injuries carry on because while he has experience Lewin is not as experienced as other teams physio's. For example up until this season Man United's physio was Tony Sturdwich who has a PHD in sports science which Lewin does not which is why he fails to manage the injuries.  However to sort out this problem Wenger hired American Shad Forysthe as the head of athletic performance enhancement. Forysthe is seen as one of the best football coaches in the world, working with the German national team for ten years and being part of the coaching staff which won the 2014 world cup. However short term this did not solve the problem, as Forysthe made a host of little chances such as getting the substitutes to warm up just before they came on. However the Arsenal players struggled to adapt to the changes leading to more injuries, but towards the end of the season it proved to be working with Arsenal having 25% less injuries then they did in the 2013-14 season. However players who missed the end of last season such as Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere have yet to appear this season suffering a number of setbacks which again shows that Lewin is the problem.

Arsenal are starting to show signs off sorting out their injuries with the inclusion of Forysthe but in my opinion until they get in a more qualified man to either replace Lewin or work with him on managing injuries, then they will continue to have a mass number of injuries over the season which will keep damaging their title push every year. 

Top 10 left backs in the world.

The role of a left back is a crucial part to any team, yet it is widely seen as the most boring position for a player in football and most of them go unnoticed. This leads to a struggle on who are the top 10 best left backs in the world as many people don't know that many, and if I asked you to name 10 left backs in a minute you would find it harder than perhaps ten center backs or forwards. Having gone through a wide range of stats, as well as looking at the players performances I have compiled a list of the top 10 left backs in the world in my opinion.

1. David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria)

Many people regard Bayern Munich left back David Alaba as the best left back in the world, purely because of how consistent he is. Fast, cool on the ball and with an eye for goal he adds more to Bayern than just your average defender as shown by him scoring or assisting 37 goals over the last three seasons. His is versatile as well with him playing in center midfield or center back for Bayern this season, and as shown by his 47% tackle rate and his average rating of 4.5 out of 5 he is doing a capable job and making him one of the first name on the team sheets having played 8509 minutes of football in the last three seasons. With a trophy cabinet already containing 4 Bundisliga's, 1 champions league, and 1 Fifa club world cup, it seems Alaba at the age of 23 has many more years to continue to succeed.

2. Jordi Alba (Barcelona and Spain)

At left back Spain and Barcelona left back Jordi Alba brings pace, composure and consistency to the team. Like Alba he has an average rating of 4.5 out of five and also has a large trophy cabinet containing 2 la liga titles, 1 Fifa club world cup championship, as well as a world cup and a European championship having scored in the final of the 2012 European championships.   With 27 interceptions, and 34 clearances this season to add to his two assist Alba shows defense solidarity as well as an attacking prowess. Alba has been highly regarded for a few years now and at the age of 26, will be Barcelona's and Spain's number one left back for years to come.

3. Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg and Switzerland)

Switzerland left back is another left back who is quite young, at the age of 23, but his impressive displays for Wolfsburg has seen him be linked with moves to Manchester United and Arsenal. Known for his attacking intent he has 2 goals and 2 assists this season, as well as 8 clean sheets, and a 69% tackle rating averaging 3.5 out of 5 in ratings this season.Many regard the left back as Wolfsburgs best player due to his pinpoint crosses and stamina. He could have been higher than third in the list but sometimes lacks on the defensive area of his game unlike Alaba and Alba. However he has time to work on this and is soon destined for a big move in the next two seasons.

4. Marcelo (Real Madrid and Brazil)

Real Madrid left back Marcelo has been seen as one of the best left backs in the world since he successfully pushed Gabriel Heinze out of the team at the Bernabeu in 2007 having joined the club in 2006. In his ten years at the club he was won 3 la liga's, 1 Fifa club world cup, 1 champions league, in which he scored in the final, a Uefa SuperCup, as well as a Copa Del Rey and 2 Spanish super-cups making over 300 appearances for Los Blanco. His pace and attacking ability can make him a game changer at times, and while his defensive abilities have been questioned the Brazilian has successfully marked down the left back spot for Madrid and Brazil for 10 years now showing his worth.

5. Jose Luis Gaya (Valencia and Spain u21s)                                                     
                                                                        Spaniard Jose Luis Gaya is so highly rated he is being talked about as being the man to force Jordi Alba out of the Spain team, and has backed this up 1 goal and 2 assists for Valencia this season, having gotten 6 more assists in 62 games for the club after his breakthrough season in the 2014/15 season. His composure on the ball has led to an  81% pass completion rate has led to him being linked with Arsenal. He has also won 54% of his defensive duels this year showing that he is the complete package and in a few years time he could be the best left back in the world.

6. Alex Sandro (Juventus and Brazil)                   
After three successful seasons at Fc Porto in which he raked up 3 goals and 14 assist in 134 games and won two Portuguese Primeria Liga titles, Brazilian Alex Sandro got a huge 26 million euro move to Juventus. At the Turin club he has shared the left back spot with Patrice Evra making 20 appearances and having an 84% pass completion rate. Sandro is very similar to Evra in which he is an energetic and athletic left back and he is seen as the replacement for Evra at Juventus and for Marcelo in the Brazilian national team and this has been backed up by him impressing this season.

7. Maxwell (PSG and Brazil)

The fact that Maxwell is seventh on this list at the age of 34 shows his worth. The PSG left back has had a long successful career playing for teams such as Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and currently PSG and has 29 titles to his name. Not known for bombing forward Maxwell represents a traditional left back by sticking to the defensive side having won 46% of his duels this season, to add to a 90% pass completion rate and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. He has been praised for his performances winning the Dutch Footballer of the year award in 2004 and has been able to keep big money signing Layvin Kurzawa out of the PSG starting eleven.

8. Leighton Baines (Everton and England)

 Leighton Baines has been a consistent performer for both Wigan Athletic and Everton in the premier league for a number of years. Known for his pinpoint crosses and deadly free kicks, he holds the premier league record for most assists from a left back with 48, and has scored 23 goals in 267 games for the toffees. He also has an impeccable penalty record only missing one in his entire career. Having represented England in the 2014 world cup Baines could have moved on to a bigger club but decided to stay loyal to Everton. He has missed most of this season through injury but is now back and he has already strengthened them defensively and on the front foot.

9. Jetro Willems (PSV and Holland)                       
Like Baines PSV left back Jetro Willems suffered a serious injury before the season started so therefore has not been able to play for PSV so far this season. This is a massive blow to the club because the 21 year old is a key assets to the club due to him being strong, pacey and defensively sound. Willems has already broken the record for being the youngest player to compete in the European championships and the youngest dutch player to play in Europe when he made his international debut at Euro 2012 at the age of 18, thus showing the high hopes his nation have for him. Many felt that with Willems the Dutch's defensive would have been much more solid in their poor European Championship qualifying campaign but with many years ahead of him the left back will have enough time to make amends for lost time.

10. Patrice Evra (Juventus and France)

Most Manchester United fans were puzzled when Louis Van Gaal let Patrice Evra leave to join Juventus. After ten wonderful years at the club in which he won every trophy available apart from the Fa Cup and marked himself as one of the best left backs in the league due to his strong heading ability and athleticism, Van Gaal let him go thinking he was finished. But Evra has proven the Dutchman wrong, having a brilliant first season with Juventus winning the treble and finishing as a champions league runner up as well as continuing to add to his 68 caps for France. A strong leader and a consistent performer Evra has built on his brilliant first season sharing the left back roll with new signing Alex Sandro and creating 19 chances this season as well as scoring a goal and assisting two. Despite his age the Frenchman remains in the top ten of best left backs in the world.