Former Arsenal player Liam Brady is worried that an injury to a key player could derail the club’s chances of finishing top this season.

Mikel Arteta’s side were unable to cope without William Saliba in the run-in when they lost out to Manchester City last campaign and Brady fears that history could repeat itself:

“Arsenal are a really good side, but you feel like they need to keep all their best players fit to have a chance.”

“Losing William Saliba from the defence last season really affected them in the final weeks of the season, when they dropped off and allowed Man City to overtake them.”

Injuries can affect even the best teams

While Brady does make a good point about Saliba, it is true that any team’s title chances could be affected by key players being missing. Manchester City, for example, have been without Kevin De Bruyne for the first half of this season and it has undoubtedly had an impact on their performances and results.

Title rivals Liverpool have also had to deal with serious injuries to the likes of Virgil van Dijk in past campaigns, which have consequently derailed their chances.

Arsenal’s squad could be strengthened in the next few weeks

It is believed that the likes of Thomas Partey and Takeihiro Tomiyasu could be back available at the start of next month after returning from injury. Jurrien Timber is also reportedly making a quicker-than-expected recovery from an ACL injury.

With Emile Smith Rowe having already returned to fitness, it does look like Arteta may have an even bigger squad of players to choose from for upcoming games, which should help maintain the Gunners’ position at the top of the table. Of course, as we saw last season, things can change quickly in football but Arsenal are currently in a strong position heading into the New Year.