How does Arsene Wenger solve his injury crisis?

Aaron Ramsey

It seems to be another day in the office for Arsene Wenger as the injury list starts to mount; with Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out for two weeks and, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy fighting off long term injuries. It does make you wonder whether the Arsenal gaffer will ever get to choose from a fully fit squad this season.

The former Wales assistant coach Raymond Verheijen criticized Arsene Wenger's training methods as he believed they were the underlying cause of Aaron Ramsey's recurring injuries. An unfair comment it may be, but it does raise the question on whether Wenger prepares his players well enough for the physical battle of football? Arsene Wenger is a purist of football who always wants to impress spectators with his total football philosophy and we as football fans admire that hugely about him, but I believe he is so focused on delivering passing tika-taka football that he may fail to address the physical aspect of football. I think by not preparing his players for the physical side of football, it makes the likes of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey prone to injury when it comes to physical contact in a football match. I believe, one way Arsene Wenger could rectify this issue is by altering his philosophy slightly so that his players are ready for physical battles, by doing this, his players would not be shocked by the physical onslaught they get by teams such as Stoke City or Chelsea.

Another way, I believe Arsene Wenger could help solve this injury crisis is by changing the type of player he always seems to be after in the transfer window. In transfer windows gone by, the Arsenal manager has replaced the strong and intimidating presences such as Gilberto Silva and Patrick Viera with smaller, more technical players such as Cesc Fabregas, Alexander Hleb, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Aaron Ramsey, Andrei Arshavin, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil - the list is endless. Yes, the technical quality of a team is important but it must be complimented by a physical presence - Patrick Viera gave Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires the freedom to attack whilst he held the fort for them in that wonderful invincible team of 2004.  Arsene Wenger needs to alter his target market in the transfer window and acquire a player who is more than willing to do the rough and dirty side of football, someone who is willing to break up play of the opposition whilst the likes of Mesut Özil influence things at the other end of the pitch.

Although the players need to prepare well for the physicality of football, there is the question of whether the likes of Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere have a mental stumbling block in regards to injuries that prevent them from playing comfortably? In order to address the potential mental stumbling blocks, I believe that the Arsenal gaffer must instill the confidence that these players yearn for so that they can overcome any stumbling block.

To sum up, if Arsene Wenger wants to keep the injury list as small as possible, then he must do three things: as well as sticking to his admirable footballing philosophy, he has to prepare his players well enough for the physical battles in his training sessions. He must also acknowledge that he has an abundance of small, technical players who are not complimented enough by  physical presences - he needs to purchase an intimidating beast of a player. And finally, he must show his players that they cannot allow their injuries to prevent them from playing with the freedom they want to play with.