With Ozil added to the injury list, what now for Arsenal?

Injuries are a staple of sport and football is no different.

The human body, only capable of so much, inevitably breaks down when put under the constant strain of being a professional athlete. Every team has to deal with it, every year.

For most, though, the dreaded injury bug is a mere mosquito. It bites, inflicting an irritating welt, before dying off. Not so at the Emirates. For Arsenal, injuries have become an incessant leech, sucking away at a squad that is, on paper, always among the most talented in the Premier League.

The frightening part? It's a leech on steroids and manager Arsene Wenger and the training staff have been incapable of killing it. According to independent website PhysioRoom, the Gunners have suffered 890 injuries since they began collecting such data in 2002. 

A quick comparison:

• Manchester United - 795
• Chelsea - 622
• Liverpool - 552

Many an investigation has been made into Arsenal's injury epidemic over the years, which, in a word, can only be described as baffling. Is Arsene Wenger and his training methodology to blame? Perhaps it's the club's preferred playing style – more time on the ball means more chances to be tackled. Are the Gunners just recruiting injury-prone players? Is it sheer bad luck?

While the answer is likely some shade of grey, one thing endures: the issue shows no sign of slowing. Wednesday, Arsenal's bug continued to feed its insatiable hunger.

The German Football Federation (DFB) announced that attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil will likely miss three months after an MRI revealed a partial ligament tear in his left knee.

Without the 25-year-old playmaker, the reigning World Cup champions will not miss a beat as they look to secure qualification for Euro 2016. Arsenal, on the other hand, do not enjoy the same luxuries as Die Mannschaft. Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Julian Draxler are not walking through the door.

Santi Cazorla (despite his inability to hit the net), Tomas Rosicky and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are serviceable players and, in support of a legitimate star in the form of Alexis Sanchez, will be fine contributors. Arsenal has been fine for years. In 2014, fine wasn't supposed to be good enough.

Now, it may have to be.

For all of the criticism he faces – most of it entirely unfair – Ozil is the team's chief creator. He ranks among the EPL's best in both key passes (2.3) and dribbles per match (2.8), despite being asked to play out of position on the left wing for much of the season thus far. Few players find pockets of dead space to exploit the way the former Real Madrid star does. Even fewer can pick a perfect pass in the same manner. Just ask Danny Welbeck, whose production stands to suffer the most in Ozil's absence.

Arsenal now faces the unenviable task of enduring – and that's exactly what it will be – a daunting portion of the schedule without at least three (and maybe as many as five) bona fide starters. Criticize Wenger's transfer dealings all you like, there are only three teams that can absorb something like that with minimal impact. None of them play in England.

"We pick up more injuries than the other big teams, that is true," Wenger once said. "You cannot say there is not a reason for it, but we have not yet found it. It's the worst season for injuries for us."

That was 2009.

Five years later, and the French bench boss may want to rethink his position. Mathieu Debuchy (ankle), Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Olivier Giroud (ankle) are in the midst of extended absences. Theo Walcott (knee) is still working his way back to fitness. Mikel Arteta is breaking down before our very eyes, looking, somehow, more immobile than ever before. Jack Wilshere is, regrettably, turning into something of a pinata. 

Does Wenger trust Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski to assume some of the attacking impetus in the wake of these injuries. He doesn't have much of a choice now. 

Perhaps a change of philosophy is in order. For a team that values possession above all else – Arsenal has enjoyed 62.3 percent of it this season, the most of any team in the league. Losing someone like Ozil will certainly impact the Gunners' ability to hang onto the ball. There's simply nobody else on the squad capable of doing the same job the German does, at the same level. The latter is the important part.

Suddenly, a roster that looked very promising and had Arsenal supporters genuinely excited coming into the season – despite the concerns over defensive midfield depth – is dealing with a dearth of bodies.

The bug is running out of potential victims. Maybe that's the answer.