I would love to see the stats on points and league position based on the amount of changes made to a team over the course of the season. I doubt that we have ever used so many different players at this stage of the season since Arsene Wenger has been at the club and it is little wonder that we are swimming around the bottom half of the table right now. You can bet your bottom quid that once we have a settled side together who actually stay somewhere near fit then we will start to rise up the

A sure way to know that an Arsenal match is just around the corner is when the talk of the town is the injury news or as Arsenal.com have now put it, team news. Injury news could be the new transfer rumour, where website’s are created and set up just to pour out made up team news. With the amount of injuries we have on almost a weekly basis there could be a demand for this you know. I shouldn’t be sharing this goldmine with you but I am nice like that.

I could stick a headline on newsnow saying ‘van Persie in salad cream dropping scare’

Then add the usual ‘sources close to the club’ or ‘friend of van Persie says’ lines to pretend that I have some sort of credibility. I would try and force through a January injury window where supporters just go crazy and the hits sore through the roof. All that would be needed is a comments section where fans with the name Gooner in it state how they hate everything to do with Arsenal and bingo. I think that has some potential.

That is for another time though because we have some actual injury news to discuss and speculate about. Bacary Sagna who I believe is the best right back that we have had since I started watching the Arsenal in the late eighties, early nineties is out for a lengthy time and now we have to find suitable solutions for that position.

Carl Jenkinson has been up and down with his form and at times has looked out of his depth at this stage of his career which certainly isn’t to say that he will not find the required level within himself in time. But in time doesn’t solve the issue of the next three months or so.

Given that Franny Coquelin has impressed when coming into the first team this season and also having played many times as a right back in the reserves, I thought he would be the most suitable option if Wenger felt that Carl wasn’t yet ready. Wenger has snatched that idea out of my hands, screwed it up and dunked it in the rubbish bin.

According to Arsene, Coquelin does not feel comfortable at right back and is not confident in filling in which is somewhat of a surprise, especially that he played much of last season on loan at Lorient as a defensive right sided player if not quite at right back.

Johan Djourou and Andre Santos were spoken about as players who could fill in the role if need be but surprisingly it was Laurent Koscielny who was talked up the most as he has previous experience in that role, albeit a few years ago and not in the Premier League.

While he may well be decent in that position, it causes yet more defensive disruption to an already disrupted back line.

A new center back in Mertesacker, a new left back in Santos, Gibbs playing his first established season also at left back, our leader at the back injured again and the best right back in the Premier League also crocked. The last thing I would want to do is break up a half established partnership in Koscielny and Mertesacker and then bring back an out of sorts Djourou in his place. As well as playing a center back at right back. Not the ideal platform for stability is it?

That stability could improve in three weeks or so when Thomas Vermaelen is due to return to the line up after surgery.

Mertesacker and Vermaelen might be potentially exciting but it would be wise to point out that the two are yet to play a single minute of Premier League football together as yet so while the German is still adapting to his new surroundings and speed of the game, he will also have to strike up a new on pitch relationship with the Verminator.

Guess who has the best aerial duels statistics in the league today? Gary Cahill! Why didn’t we just bloody splash the cash *psssstttt! keep it quiet. Koscielny has the best aerial stats in the whole league with 86% while Gary Cahill currently has 59%* (Stats from EPL Index)

Anyway, let’s quickly move away from that. I just don’t want to talk about it right now.

It is just sods law isn’t it? Sagna is made of stone. Since he has joined us he has hardly spent any time out injured. Week in, week out to borrow a cliche. Takes knocks and jumps back up. The one season that we are short in that area, he gets crocked, not just crocked but long term crocked.

Abou Diaby is apparently 10 days away from a first team return and could be included in our Carling Cup game against Bolton on the 25th October.
Since his return from his ankle operation he has been running and training with the squad without any apparent set back which is great but obviously we have to wait to see how he gets through a few competitive challenges yet alone games.

I make no excuses for being a fully paid up member of the Abou Diaby fan club and I just pray that this new surgery can keep the poor fella off the treatment table. If he had been completely fit and played for Real Madrid then he would have a £30m price tag above his head. He would also have many current detractors fuming at how we are not paying the required money for players of this quality.

I imagine that many people will have been watching the Diaby who has always been trying to catch up with match sharpness and fitness, also the Diaby that has been trying to adapt to his nearest team mates on the day, the Diaby who has been making mistakes due to these reasons and then falling victim to injury once more in his comeback game, or shortly after.

It is easy to point the finger at a player in that situation. Football is never as easy as dropping 11 players on the pitch and then expecting them to click into top form, individually and collectively. For a team to reach their maximum, many goals have to be achieved first. Individual fitness, confidence and eventually form. Collectively the team has to find partnerships, understanding, balance and also confidence in each other.

When you link those individual attributes to Diaby how many can you tick off? fitness? clearly not. form? you cannot find form without playing games and who knows where Diaby’s confidence is right now. Then link Diaby with the team. Partnerships, understanding and balance cannot be achieved without playing football matches. It is really that simple.

Fitness is a massive part of a footballers life. If they have unworkable tools then they cannot work. Fitness can be the margin between a scapegoat and a hero. Diaby’s detractors rarely question his ability. Inconsistency, decision making and form are usually what is leveled against him but all these points are often corrected by staying clear of injury.

Watch Robin van Persie for weeks when he returned back from injury last season and then compare that to the Robin of the end of the season. Massive difference. There is no reason why this cannot be the case with any talented player who has struggled with injury.

I would love to see the stats on points and league position based on the amount of changes made to a team over the course of a season. I doubt that we have ever used so many different players at this stage of the season since Arsene Wenger has been at the club and it is little wonder that we are swimming around the bottom half of the table right now. You can bet your bottom quid that once we have a settled side together who actually stay somewhere near fit then we will start to rise up the table.

Interesting to hear Arsene hinting that Alex Chamberlain needs to add the defensive concentration and that it is absolutely vital in the modern game. It seems as if that is the one area that he needs to work on before he can be considered as a regular starter. Ok, perhaps I added that part in but that is what I took from Wenger’s answer. He also hinted that the Ox has a good chance of making the England Euro 2012 squad. If he continues to get games and show the end product that he has so far then I think he has a bloody good chance.

Before I go about my business, I want to point some fingers in some directions. One is to Omomo14’s article yesterday. The Arteta/Cesc Comparisons – Two very different players.

Also a piece from Wenger Boy called: Three Ways that Wenger Could Freshen Up Our Team

Check them out Gooners. Right, time to hit the road.

Back tomorrow.