“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
It’s a line rolled out whenever numbers are being used to shape a story – and it fits perfectly here. Depending on how they’re framed, selected, or presented, statistics can push a narrative in almost any direction.
Recently published injury reports claim that Arsenal, with 28 injuries already in 2025-26, have suffered more setbacks than any other Premier League side. Big numbers like that are gold for engagement: they make headlines, ignite debate, and flood timelines.
But if we’re being fair, we need to ask a simple question: what actually counts as an injury?
Not all incidence is created equal, and if the discussion centres on The Gunners’ title prospects, then the only meaningful metric is the one that reflects availability in the league – the injuries that truly affect performance across the domestic calendar.
That’s why, at Premier Injuries, we track only:
- injuries that result in at least one Premier League match missed, and
- injuries to first-team squad players.
So, a case like Max Dowman – talented, yes, but just 15 years old with only 29 minutes of league football – he is excluded.
Our surveillance period also runs from the opening weekend, with incidence and burden calculated from 15/08/25 through to a competitive return-to-play.
Additional analysis may include injuries carried into the season, but that is a conversation for another day, but for the record, Arsenal had two: Gabriel Jesus and Christian Nørgaard.
Under that lens, the headline figure collapses. Arsenal’s ‘28 injuries’ becomes, 14, half the number, just 2.8% above last season – and crucially, not the highest total in the league.
| Teams | No. of Injuries |
|---|---|
| Leeds United | 15 |
| Arsenal | 14 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 13 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 12 |
| Chelsea | 12 |
| Newcastle United | 12 |
| Fulham | 11 |
| Aston Villa | 11 |
| Nottingham Forest | 11 |
| Manchester City | 11 |
| Manchester United | 10 |
| Wolves | 10 |
| Liverpool | 10 |
| Crystal Palace | 10 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 9 |
| West Ham United | 8 |
| Sunderland | 7 |
| Everton | 6 |
| Brentford | 6 |
| Burnley | 5 |
But even that doesn’t tell the full story.
Raw totals lack context – injury type, injury burden, and perhaps most importantly, they ignore the additional demands placed on squads playing European football. We simply aren’t comparing like-for-like.
To level the playing field, we calculate incidence rates per 1,000 minutes played.
| Teams | Incidence per 1K Minutes |
|---|---|
| Leeds United | 10.4 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 7.4 |
| Arsenal | 7.1 |
| Manchester United | 6.9 |
| Fulham | 6.8 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 6.6 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 6.3 |
| Wolves | 6.2 |
| Chelsea | 6.1 |
| Newcastle United | 6.1 |
| Nottingham Forest | 5.8 |
| Aston Villa | 5.8 |
| Manchester City | 5.6 |
| West Ham United | 5.6 |
| Liverpool | 5.1 |
| Sunderland | 4.9 |
| Crystal Palace | 4.8 |
| Everton | 3.9 |
| Brentford | 3.7 |
| Burnley | 3.3 |
This matters because, even at this early stage, one Premier League team has played eight more matches than a quarter of the division – that’s 630 additional minutes of exposure – and only Crystal Palace have played more than Arsenal. And with more minutes comes more inherent risk.
Ultimately, injury numbers only become meaningful when viewed within their proper context – the minutes played, the demands of the schedule, the makeup of the squad, and the true impact on availability. Without that perspective, big headline totals risk telling half the story. By anchoring analysis in incidence, burden, and exposure, we can move beyond surface-level narratives and towards a more accurate understanding of what teams are really facing across a long and relentless Premier League season.
