Breaking News: Mikel Arteta facing new Arsenal problem as chronic issues in title race laid bare

Mikel Arteta has had to deal with plenty of injury issues this season (Image: Alex Pantling)

Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, has already had to deal with a lot of injury issues this season, which has caused his team to fall behind in the battle for the Premier League crown.

When it comes to the Premier League’s injured teams this season, official records show that Arsenal is among the top teams.

Under Mikel Arteta’s leadership, the Gunners have successfully re-established themselves as championship contenders. They were widely regarded as the team most likely to break Manchester City’s run of domestic supremacy after nearly accomplishing it the previous season.

But Arteta’s team trailed league leaders Liverpool by about nine points heading into the international break. And a major contributing cause to their inconsistent play has been injury.

Arsenal is officially ranked fourth in the Premier League this season for the number of days that players have missed due to injury, according to data provided to Sky Sports by Premier Injuries.

After a string of setbacks during international vacations, including the injury of Belgium forward Leandro Trossard last week, their cumulative number now stands at an astounding 297 days.

This season, five players have missed 22 games due to injuries they acquired while playing for their country. The most notable absence for Arsenal this season has been that of club captain Martin Odegaard, a Norway midfielder who missed 12 games due to an ankle injury sustained during the international break in September.

The team is currently awaiting Trossard’s prognosis after Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Riccardo Calafiori were also injured while playing for their country and missed time.

Leandro Trossard became the latest Arsenal player to suffer an injury on international duty last week

It’s interesting to note that Arteta now has to deal with Arsenal’s injuries. The Gunners have had greater luck in their prior title attempts during the last two years.

Arsenal lost just 898 days due to injury last season, giving them the seventh-best record in the Premier League. Due to their luck with fitness, Arteta was able to name an unchanged side 13 times in the previous season, more than any other team in the league.

“You could see everything was flowing, but again, it’s about winning,” Arteta told Sky Sports, highlighting the impact injuries have had on Arsenal earlier this month.

“We know exactly how we want to develop the team. We discover that we need to make a significant modification since we keep running into issues. Getting athletes to perform at their peak for ninety minutes is my biggest fear. We will have a successful season because of that.