Arsenal’s season has been shaped as much by injuries as their performances, with the scale of their injury record laid bare below.
When the team was named for Arsenal’s trip to Stamford Bridge, the absence of William Saliba was as notable as seeing Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyökeres back on the bench.
Saliba had appeared in final training images before the game, but a knock suffered in that session ruled him out, leaving him watching from the stands alongside his centre-back partner Gabriel.
Leandro Trossard was also missing, unable to recover from the problem he sustained against Bayern Munich in midweek.
Those injuries are not an isolated problem. Across the first 20 matches of the season, Arsenal’s players have now missed a combined total of 99 matches through injury.
It is a figure that should cut through much of the external noise around their campaign, but it doesn’t. It’s still all about Arsenal’s set-pieces, even though they’ve scored the same number as Manchester United and only one more than Chelsea.
In defence, Ben White, Saliba and Gabriel have each missed three matches, while Piero Hincapie has been unavailable for nine. While Riccardo Calafiori suffered an in-game injury, he has otherwise remained available. Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also been available for every match.
The disruption in midfield has been most severe around Martin Ødegaard, who has been available for only eight of the 20 games, with a further three appearances curtailed in-game. Declan Rice has been present in all 20 but has also picked up an in-match injury. Thankfully, he was able to shake it off. Christian Nørgaard and Martin Zubimendi have both missed three, while Mikel Merino and Ethan Nwaneri have remained ever-present.
In attack, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have each missed four matches. Noni Madueke has been out for 11, while also going off injured in another. Viktor Gyökeres has missed four, while Trossard missed his first match of the season this weekend. At the extreme end, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus have each been available just once across the 20 games, missing 19 each.
Even Kepa has missed one through injury.
It has been relentless and should make what Arsenal have done so far this season even more impressive. Just as attacking options have begun to return, defensive absences have mounted. As defenders come back, problems have shifted elsewhere. The spine of the squad has not been stable at any point this season.
These tables are updated regularly here.
Arsenal men player availability
| Total games | 20 | 99 | |
| Player | Available | Injured in game | Out |
| David Raya | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Kepa | 20 | 0 | 1 |
| Ben White | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| Jurrien Timber | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Cristhian Mosquera | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| William Saliba | 17 | 2 | 3 |
| Gabriel | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| Piero Hincapie | 11 | 0 | 9 |
| Riccardo Calafiori | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Zubimendi | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Norgaard | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| Declan Rice | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Mikel Merino | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Odegaard | 8 | 3 | 12 |
| Ethan Nwaneri | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Eberechi Eze | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| Bukayo Saka | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| Noni Madueke | 9 | 1 | 11 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| Leandro Trossard | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| Viktor Gyokeres | 16 | 1 | 4 |
| Kai Havertz | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| Gabriel Jesus | 1 | 0 | 19 |
Arsenal men injuries 25/26 season
| Player | Injuries | Matches missed |
| Gabriel Jesus | ACL 24/25 | 55 (37 + 18) |
| Kai Havertz | Knee | 18 |
| Noni Madueke | Knee | 11 |
| Martin Odegaard | Shoulder x2, knee | 12 |
| Ben White | Knock | 3 |
| William Saliba | Ankle, unknown | 3 |
| Piero Hincapie | Groin | 9 |
| Christian Norgaard | Muscular | 3 |
| Bukayo Saka | Hamstring | 4 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | Groin | 4 |
| Viktor Gyokeres | Hamstring | 3 |
| Kepa | Unknown | 1 |
| Gabriel | Thigh | 1 |
| Leandro Trossard | Calf | 1 |