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Former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires believes the current injuries at the club could cost them the Premier League title this season, according to Daily Star. Several key players have been ruled out from the starting lineup due to injuries, but the Gunners have been handed a huge boost as players like Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to the squad on their away trip to West Bromwich Albion.
Annual injury setbacks at the Emirates Stadium have become a regular thing for the supporters and they are gradually getting used to this. The club’s casualty list includes a number of their key players from their squad such as Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky.
Arsene Wenger has had to rely on the likes of Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell in crucial games such as their 5-1 hammering to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Champions League Match Day 4. The North London club have always had the potential to mount a title challenge in the previous seasons, but injuries to their several players in crucial stages of the campaign have let them down on many occasions.
This season, though, Wenger and his men have been maintaining an impressive domestic record, especially on their away outings. They are going head-to-head with rivals Manchester City to claim the top spot in the league table and are now level on points, with just goal difference separating the two sides.
Too many Arsenal players injured and it’s only November: Pires
Former Arsenal player Pires believes the club has a talented crop of players, but he has admitted that the absence of several players from the squad could hamper their title challenge this term.
“We are in mid-November and they are doing well but what can trouble them is the number of players who are out injured,” the Frenchman said in an interview during a World AIDS Day charity event.
“Physically, they feel well. Sometimes, I can see similarities with the football we were playing a few years ago – a football played with pace and fluidity.
“The team has done well particularly in the league. I think they are a team that can win the league at the end of the season.”
The North London club will be looking to pick up some momentum against West Brom this weekend before they turn their attentions to the Champions League during the midweek. They face Dinamo Zagreb in a must-win game for Wenger’s side who are on a mission to keep their Champions League hopes alive. But their Champions League hopes are not completely in their hands with Bayern Munich playing Olympiacos.
