Arsenal’s most important outfield players, in order of importance:
•saka- out from december to april
•odegaard- out four months
•gabriel- season ending injury
•saliba- healthy 🤞🏼
•havertz- season ending injury
•white- missed 3.5 months, injured again
this doesn’t include major long term injuries to defensive starters timber and calafiore, and our top defensive backup tomiyasu. doesn’t mention gabriel jesus, our second striker, tearing his acl.
when this season started MLS was our fifth string LB, but after injuries to calafiore, timber, tomiyasu, and KT he’s now our starter. ethan nwaneri wasn’t supposed to have a role this year, but after all of the injuries he’s played and started a bunch of matches. we historically suck with partey at rb, and yet he’s been having to start there because we have so many injuries to defenders.
i’m sorry, but you’re being an unabashed homer if you think that liverpool could sustain injuries like this (lose all of your goals and every defender not named konate for 3-9 months, plus 4-5 more first team players) and still have the best defense in the league while staying in second all season. you’re going out of your way to downplay this incredible managerial performance by arteta. i’m sorry, but y’all could not lose salah, vvd, taa, mac allister, and again, pretty much every defender not named konate, plus all of your other goal scorers, then finish second with the best defense is the epl, and *not* be absolutely floored by what an amazing managerial performance that is.