This is a big week for Arsenal, and another which they will have to take on without at least one of their top players. Whether it be through injury or self-inflicted disciplinary problems, Mikel Arteta's squad is being tested like never before and the strain is already beginning to show.
The 2024-25 Premier League season is now two months old and Arsenal prepare to face leaders Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday. They have uncharacteristically already dropped points, and defeat to Arne Slot's side would leave the Gunners seven points off the pace before the end of October. William Saliba, widely regarded as the best centre-back in the Premier League, is ruled out of the Liverpool clash after being sent off in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth -- Arsenal's third red card in eight league games.
When Arsenal chased Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race over the last two seasons, finishing a close second each time, they did so with the advantage of having a core of players who played all, or the vast majority, of their league games. Whether it was by good fortune in terms of avoiding injuries and suspensions, or good management by Arteta and his staff, Arsenal were able to take City to the wire by keeping mistakes and setbacks to an absolute minimum.
So dominant have City been under Pep Guardiola, winning six titles in eight seasons, that challengers have had to be almost perfect to beat them. Liverpool managed that in 2019-20 to win a first league title since 1990, but Arsenal couldn't quite do enough in 2022-23 and 2023-24, so they are giving themselves a mountain to climb with their start to this campaign.
In 2022-23, when Arsenal finished five points behind City after a title race that was neck-and-neck until the final month, Bukayo Saka (38 Premier League appearances), Ben White (38), Gabriel Magalhães (38), Granit Xhaka (38) and Martin Ødegaard (37) were all fixtures in Arteta's side. Last season, Saliba and Declan Rice were both ever-presents in the league while White (37), Kai Havertz (37), Ødegaard (35) and Saka (35) were also in the frame for virtually every game as the Gunners finished with 89 points but still didn't land the title.
But this season, injuries to Ødegaard (out since mid-September with ankle injury) and summer signing Mikel Merino, who has made just two appearances, have impacted on the consistency of selection that has been a key component of Arsenal's rise under Arteta. Saka's injury-enforced absence in the defeat at Bournemouth was another example of a crucial player missing out and Arsenal paying a price in points.
The absences are testing the strength of Arteta's squad and they are an occupational hazard, but the red cards for Rice, Leandro Trossard and Saliba have been self-inflicted and have exacerbated Arsenal's squad challenges.
On each occasion, Arsenal failed to win. For the first two they were ahead when reduced to 10 men. They drew at home to Brighton & Hove Albion when Rice was sent off for two yellow cards, and surrendered a 2-1 lead and drew at Man City after Trossard was dismissed -- also for two yellow cards and, like Rice, the second for kicking the ball away. Arsenal lost at Bournemouth with Saliba shown a straight red card on 30 minutes, with the score 0-0, for bringing down Evanilson when the striker was through on goal.
Arsenal's issue is that they are compounding their injury problems by losing players to suspension. When chasing Man City and Liverpool in a race for the title, Arsenal know that consistency of selection and results are crucial in any attempt to emerge as champions, but they are falling short on both right now.
The loss of Ødegaard to an injury sustained while playing for Norway is something that Arsenal could not predict or prepare for, just as injuries suffered by Saka and Riccardo Calafiori on international duty have been beyond their control. But the red cards -- certainly those issued to Rice and Trossard -- could have been avoided and their impact is hitting Arsenal doubly hard because of the absences caused by injury.
Arsenal's team is strong and the squad is getting better but it still lacks the depth of those at City, Liverpool and even Chelsea. As a result, it's no surprise that a combination of injuries and the consequences of red cards are turning the screws on Arsenal's title challenge at such an early stage of the season.
And the danger for Arsenal is that, by the time his squad is fully fit again, there may be too much ground to cover because the suspensions have hit them at a time when they couldn't cope with the additional strain on the squad.