Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta believes that the Gunners would have launched a better challenge for the Premier League title if the club had not suffered so many injuries.
The North London club have endured a number of injury woes this season, which has particularly damaged Arsene Wenger's defensive options.
Despite a poor start to the season, Arsenal have revived their campaign by surpassing local rivals Tottenham Hotspur into third place in the table with eight games left to play.
"We have been hit with important, long-term injuries the whole season that really, really affect the team," Arteta told Sport Magazine.
"I would like to see this team playing with the same XI for 10-15 games - then we could talk about if we were good enough or not.
"Now we are starting to do it and we are starting to get really good results, so for me the biggest concern is to stop the injuries."
The Gunners take on Queens Park Rangers tomorrow.
Danielle Joynson
