ARSENAL have called in a physiotherapist to investigate the injury crisis which threatens to wreck their season.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League and have gone deep in all three cup competitions, including the League Cup final and being on the brink of the Champions League final.
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Arsenal have called in a physiotherapist to investigate the injury crisis threatening to derail their title efforts Credit: Getty
The physio is an old friend of manager Mikel Arteta, Joaquín Acedo Credit: Instagram/@kinesyssport
However, injuries to key players – particularly in attacking areas – have often left them looking toothless and devoid of ideas.
The likes of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz have missed large parts of the season due to injury.
And according to The Telegraph, the total number of those injuries has resulted in Arsenal stars missing a staggering 262 matches for club and country through injury this season.
In the Premier League alone, that figure works out to a mind-blowing 141 games missed by players.
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By comparison, Manchester City – who possess a larger squad than Arsenal – have seen 135 games missed.
But in key areas like striker, City talisman Erling Haaland has missed one league game through injury, while Havertz has missed 23.
In an effort to get to the bottom of the issue, Mikel Arteta has parachuted in an old ally to help.
The ally in question is Spanish physio, Joaquín Acedo.
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Acedo has been in and around the Gunners’ first team since at least last September, based on a social media post from then saying he was undertaking a “new project” alongside a picture of the club’s London Colney training ground.
Another post indicating his closeness with Arteta sees the pair posing for a photo pitchside in the Emirates back in 2023.
The report adds he was at the club in previous seasons on the recommendation of the manager.
JattvibeSport have approached Arsenal for comment.
Arsenal currently sit three points ahead of title rivals Man City.
However, Pep Guardiola‘s chasers have a game in hand, and will almost certainly have a better goal difference if they win that game which will hand them an advantage over the Gunners.
Arteta’s side have twice come second in the league behind City, while last season they were second to Liverpool.
Gooners are desperate to end their wait for the English league title, which stretches back more than two decades.
The likes of Kai Havertz have missed practically the whole season through injury Credit: Reuters
But another potential injury to captain and main playmaker Odegaard, after he was taken off against Atletico Madrid, could prove costly.
In his press conference before the Fulham clash, the Spanish boss was asked for an update on his squad.
The 44-year-old revealed there were no new injury concerns from the midweek trip to Madrid, but admitted Odegaard’s condition was on a “let’s see” basis.
Meanwhile, Arteta confirmed Havertz and Timber would be missing.
He told reporters: “Yeah Kai and Jurrien will be out.
“He’s (Havertz) been a huge miss – we’re talking about one of the most important attacking players we have, and he’s been out for seven or eight months.
“Unfortunately, he’s not been the only one with long-term injuries and players have been missed.
“The team has shown an incredible capacity to overcome these kinds of scenarios and still be very, very competitive.
“The focus right now has to be on availability and performance, and Kai is desperate to be on the pitch as quickly as possible.
“Hopefully for Atletico, he will be available, and he’s pushing every boundary to achieve that.”
