When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

We pick our way through carefully crafted arguments about substitutions. We model Arsenal’s accounts and check sums. We stare at squad sheets late into the night looking for blame. And we turn to graphs and charts of performances to reveal ultimate truths. But in the end, it’s just a foot that derails an entire season.

Or does it?

As we’ve seen nearly every year as far back as I can remember an Arsenal player always has some kind of injury to start the season. Then the boss talks about how his recovery is going well. Then he starts light running or training. And just when the butterflies are settled in my stomach and the transfer window is closing, the boss announces a setback.

This time it’s Jack Wilshere who has had a setback and could be out for the remainder of the season. I won’t bore you with the details of his injury or what the setback is because, frankly, I don’t care. Maybe you need to know if it’s an inflamed bone or a tendon in his calf that rubs against another tendon and causes him discomfort. Maybe you’d like to know the course of treatment. Maybe it will be horse placenta, which seemed to work wonders for van Persie.

I’m also not someone who is going to blame the medical staff at Arsenal because from what I can tell this team doesn’t just suffer from some fluid in the muscle, this team has had an unusual number of broken bones. Cesc, Nasri, Clichy, Frimpong, Robin, Gibbs, Diaby, Eduardo, and Ramsey all had their bones broken before this season and have spent/will spend time in the recovery table for those injuries. And this year alone we’ve had Wilshere, Jenkinson, and Sagna all out with broken bones.

If you want to complain about the fact that “they” rested Wilshere’s “inflamed bone” at the start of the season instead of going straight into surgery then you’re missing a major plot point in that story. “They” includes Jack Wilshere who, in consultation with his doctor, chose to rest his leg rather than go under the knife. Jack Wilshere is under contract at Arsenal, but last time I checked, he is still allowed to make medical decisions for himself without first consulting us.

Or perhaps you want to blame Capello, Psycho, or Arsene for playing him too much? Sure, go right ahead. They did play him too much and do deserve some of the blame. Along with Jack, who took way too long to take a stand against playing in the U-21 team.

Maybe it’s squad size? Wenger perhaps shouldn’t be carrying dead weight in the squad and should be buying players who can compete and in a perfect world I would totally agree. But then again last season was a year in which I recall lauding the depth in midfield at the start of the season as the Arsenal midfield was Nasri, Cesc, Song, Wilshere, Rosicky, and Denilson. Again, it was injuries to players like Cesc that forced Wilshere to play so much.

Sure, burnout of Ramsey is a very real threat but Arsene has tried Benayoun and Rosicky there and Rosicky actually had a great game for Arsenal against Man U. Probably the best performer in midfield. So, rotation there is an option.

I don’t know. I do know that Wilshere was seen by many as the existential-crisis- slayer at Arsenal. The player who was going to come back fit and right all the wrongs. And there is no doubting his talent, spirit or love for the club. He would be a huge addition to the squad and will be sorely missed, no doubt.

But the position that Wilshere plays in is actually doing OK as far as numbers. If there’s a crisis requiring a rash purchase, it’s fullbacks that Arsenal need at the moment. Djourou is a decent player but his passing numbers are unsurprisingly much lower than Sagna. Also, Djourou’s pace is suspect and you saw that against Man U and will see it again against any team that has a speedy left wing player (read, “all of them”). And as on cue, the team news this morning is the surprise announcement that Bacary Sagna is back in contention for Sunday’s match.

Ahhh the mysteries of the universe. I think I need some night air.

Qq