Arsenal injury crisis: Are the Gunners the Premier League's unluckiest side this season?

The Gunners have only had the fourth-worst record when judged on players missing per game

Alexis Sanchez feels his hamstring during the game against Norwich City (Getty Images)

The injury crisis at Arsenal has deepened this week with serious setbacks befalling on two of the club’s key players.

After admitting that he was prepared to risk rather than rest star man Alexis Sanchez for last weekend’s trip to Norwich City, the Chilean suffered a reoccurrence of his long-term hamstring problem and now looks set to be out until Christmas.

It’s even worse news for Santi Cazorla who, after being kicked on the knee by Gary O’Neil at Carrow Road, will be out for the next three months. Following the Spaniard’s injury, Joel Campbell is the only outfield player at the club to have had an injury-free 2015.

It all looks very bleak for Arsenal fans, who are hoping that their side can come through a crucial Champions League meeting with Olympiakos on Wednesday.

But are the Gunners really the Premier League’s unluckiest side when it comes to injuries?

The website Injury League suggests otherwise, after collating data from PhysioRoom.com. For every player injured each week, their systems ‘awards’ a club a point.

This gives a better reflection of each club’s troubles than simply counting the number of injuries sustained by the players, as it accounts for how long each absentee spends on the sidelines.

The results are somewhat surprising.

The Injury League Top 5

The top five Premier League clubs in the injury-points table (Injury League / PhysioRoom.com)

Arsenal, whose campaign has apparently been racked with injury problems, only rank 4th in the table with 99 points.

Three sides have worse injury records than those at the Emirates Stadium. Newcastle United, second from bottom in the Premier League table and with manager Steve McClaren under mounting pressure, have amassed 151, the league’s highest.

That’s some way ahead of Everton who, despite their promising start to the campaign, sit in second with 122 points.

Their city rivals Liverpool are in third, with key players like Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson having sat in the stands for much of this term.

Injury problems contributed to the difficult first few months at Anfield, but new manager Jurgen Klopp has breathed life into their season again by making the most out of limited resources.

While Arsenal’s problems are serious, the Emirates Stadium’s treatment room has been far from the league’s busiest this year.