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Premier League icon Chris Sutton has branded Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as jealous after the Dutchman's comments over Arsenal's lack of injury issues this season.
The Red Devils' campaign has been blighted by absence of key players. Christian Eriksen has been sidelined since January, while Casemiro has been suspended twice and is serving a domestic four-match ban. Ten Hag claimed that Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has not dealt with injury problems as much as he has had to:
"Every time, every game is a player suspended, injured, illness. So we have to deal with it well, of course, you hope. I see Arsenal, they almost have all the time a squad that is totally available."
However, Sutton disagrees with Ten Hag's comments and has praised the Premier League leaders for doing the right things, telling bettingsites.co.uk:
“I don’t think that you can say Arsenal have been lucky with injuries. The players have obviously been doing the right things and working hard. They’ll be doing stuff pre-training to make sure they’re conditioned and ready to play."
The Premier League great continued by insisting that more injuries are inevitable:
“That’s not to say Manchester United players aren’t doing the same things but in some seasons you get more injuries than other seasons."
Sutton added that Ten Hag is probably because of jealousy, considering the progress shown by Arteta's side this season:
“You know, as a consequence of Arsenal having that continuity while they’re doing so well. Ten Hag has done well, but he’s probably jealous to be looking and seeing Arsenal just miles ahead of them at the minute.”
Arsenal are enjoying an excellent season under Arteta and are on course to win the league for the first time since 2004. They're atop the standings with an eight-point cushion over second-placed Manchester City and are 19 points clear of third-placed Manchester United.
However, the Gunners haven't been without their injury issues. Gabriel Jesus has sat out three months of the campaign following a knee injury sustained at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
There're currently three first-team players potentially sidelined. William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu withdrew from international duty this past week due to injuries. Meanwhile, Thomas Partey returned home early from Ghana's African Cup of Nations qualifiers and will be assessed ahead of the Gunners' clash with Leeds United on Saturday (April 1).
Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame
Legendary managerial duo Ferguson and Wenger have been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. They are the first managers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after their phenomenal contributions to English football.
Ferguson led Manchester United to 13 Premier League titles. The Scot oversaw 810 games in the Old Trafford dugout, with United winning 528 of them. The former Manchester United boss is the most successful manager in English football history. He's also regarded as one of the greatest tacticians in the sport's history.
Meanwhile, Wenger transformed Arsenal during his time at the club. He became the first manager in Premier League history to oversee an unbeaten league campaign, doing so in 2003-04. He won the title thrice, with the Gunners winning 476 of 828 games.
