Morning all.
The early information regarding the injuries sustained on Sunday is that Alexis is going to miss three weeks with his hamstring strain. On the one hand, there’s no now choice but to ‘rest’ him, meaning he’ll miss what should be winnable Premier League games against Sunderland and Aston Villa (although you might have said that Norwich and West Brom fell into that category too, and look what happened there).
The news of Santi Cazorla is more vague. Like Alexis he’s expected to be out for a while with a knee problem, but there’s been no time-frame put on it yet other than to say like Alexis he’ll also miss the away trip to Olympiacos in the Champions League. He’s due to have a scan after which we’ll know about how long he’s going to be out.
As for Laurent Koscielny, apparently they’re the least worried about him, hopeful that a muscle spasm won’t mean any significant time out of action – which is why this morning I’m going to go down to my nearest bookie and put a tenner on him being out the longest. Hey, if you can’t profit from other people’s pain and misery, when can you?
In terms of what it means for the team, the solutions are fairly obvious because of the paucity of options available to us. In the absence of Koscielny, Gabriel comes in alongside Per Mertesacker and while it’s not precisely like for like with regard to quality, it should be good enough. Hopefully the Brazilian’s rustiness, evident a couple of times against Norwich, won’t be an issue if he gets some games under his belt.
Losing Cazorla from midfield can only mean a move back into the centre for Aaron Ramsey. There really is no other option there and it’ll be a chance for the Welshman to show that it’s where he belongs. It has always felt as if Coquelin and Cazorla were a partnership unique to each other, if that makes sense. Whatever combination of attributes they possess, when it works it’s absolutely blinding.
Cazorla that central in the midfield along with any other defensive midfield player doesn’t seem to work quite as well. So, while it’s definitely not a blessing in disguise – at this point any injury we suffer is going to have a seriously negative effect on us – the forced change in dynamic might provide a new pairing that works a little better than keeping Cazorla there with somebody that doesn’t really suit him.
Flamsey, Ramini, I think that’s what we’re looking at for the next few weeks anyway. Even Arteta, if he can get himself fit, tends to dovetail much more naturally with him, but I think the onus will be on Ramsey to solidify the centre of the pitch and not be quite as adventurous as he likes. I know the manager spoke last week about how if you play him as a DM you kill his strengths, but this isn’t really that.
He has the energy, stamina and tackling ability to do a good job in the engine room of the team, and if that comes a little at the expense of his natural desire to get forward, then so be it. I recall him having a really good spell alongside Arteta in the second half of the 2012/13 season, and ultimately that provided him the platform for his outstanding goalscoring in the subsequent campaign.
Right now, even if it’s not the role Arsene Wenger feels most suits him, what choice do we have other than to ask him to fill that gap in Cazorla’s absence? It’s hardly out of his comfort zone, he wants to be a central midfield player, and while he might prefer a box to box role, being a little less attacking is hardly a huge burden to place on his shoulders. It’s also a chance for him to show that this is where he belongs in the long-term, so hopefully that will be reflected in his performances.
As for Alexis, again we’re more or less in last man standing territory. If a fit again Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to come into the side on the right, then the only real option we have available for the left is Joel Campbell. It might even be a case that the manager swaps them over, Campbell on the right etc, but other than delving deep into his squad and blooding The Jeff or playing Alex Iwobi, what else can we do?
Interestingly, it seems that Calum Chambers played in midfield for the U21s last night, perhaps part of the re-training or preparation he’s going through in case he’s needed in the midfield. However, while I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong, I don’t think he’s anywhere near ready play in central midfield in the Premier League or the Champions League. That’s not to say he won’t ever be, but right now that feels a bit like a last resort (which I guess it is really).
Yet that’s the kind of territory we’re in at the moment, we’re down to our final options in certain positions without having to play people completely out of position or to count on youngsters who, on the basis of what we saw already this season in the Capital One Cup, are far from ready.
All of which is posited on the basis that we don’t pick up any further problems along the way, and with the hectic festive period on the way, I think we all need to light some candles, pray to David Bowie and hope for the best.
For more on injuries, what to do about them and how they impact us, check out this week’s Arsecast Extra in which, unsurprisingly, it’s a major topic of conversation. You can listen here, here, subscribe via iTunes or in your favourite podcasting app by searching ‘Arsecast’ or manually using our RSS feed.
Any further news on injuries, illness, bumps, aches, strains, niggles, tweaks, bruises, cuts, gashes, contusions, stretches, tears, lesions or assorted wounds will be reported over on Arseblog News throughout the day.
Have a good one.
