When the talented young Welshman arrived for 5 million from Cardiff City, lots were expected from him. However, the nightmare of a reckless and unnecessary tackle from Shawcross almost put an end to Aaron Ramsey’s career. The Arsenal midfielder took nine months to recover from the serious and traumatic injury and it took much longer for him to rediscover the potential that shone through his early career.

“There is only one Aaron Ramsey!” – The slogan was almost forgotten by the Gooners during the past two seasons, as the horrible injury pushed back Ramey’s progress quite a bit and he had to fill the huge shoes left by Cesc Fabregas. What’s more, injury problems forced Arsene Wenger to use Ramsey as a winger, making him the natural scapegoat every time Arsenal failed to win.

Suddenly, the critics have gone quiet. Five goals and four assists in eight appearances in the league reveals that Rambo is back to his pre-injury best, or, even better. Arsenal maintain their leading position in the Premier League Table as Aaron Ramsey continues his fine scoring form. Even Arsene Wenger admitted he was surprised by the 23-year-old, “Honestly, I didn't expect him to score so many.”

Before becoming one of the world’s top strikers, Robin van Persie spent almost one year of his time as a Gunner in the medical care centre. Since joining Arsenal in 2004, he suffered 11 ankle injuries, four knee injuries, four thigh muscle strains, two hamstring injuries and so on. No wonder why the Dutch fans refer to him as ‘glass ankles’.

However, things started to change in the 2011/12 season, during which he scored 37 goals in his 48 appearances as the Gunners' captain. Last season, the Dutchman fired 30 times in 48 games for Manchester United. Robin van Persie had managed a non-injury record until a groin injury kept him out of the 4-1 derby against Manchester City. 

Daniel Sturridge was heavily criticised during his three year career at Chelsea. Before being sent to Liverpool in the winter transfer window, Sturridge was treated as an outcast for his lack of willingness to pass the ball and unprofessional attitude.

However, Sturridge seemed to manage a new life in red. Brendan Rogers hailed the Sturrige and Suarez pairing "as good as any in the league". The 24-year-old is the league’s current top scorer having fired home eight times so far this season. Since joining Liverpool from Chelsea in January, Sturridge boasts a significant goal record, netting 20 times in total.

Dubbed as the “new Didier Drogba”, Romelu Lukaku has experienced quite an outstanding start to his career, during which he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. However, failing to net the penalty in the Super Cup Final revealed that the talented Belgian forward was still not qualified for competing with Torres, Demba Ba, Schurrle and Eto’o. Having managed only four starts since joining Chelsea, Lukaku was sent out on loan to Everton by his parent club.

Lukaku’s loan spell seems to be very productive for the youngster as he has scored five times in five games for Everton, while Chelsea are still desperate for goals in the Premier League. Such performances raised a heated debate on Jose Mourniho’s decision given Chelsea’s struggle to find a consistent centre forward. Steve Bruce, manager of Hull City, said to the Daily Mail that Lukaku’s loan to Everton is to hurt Chelsea’s title rivals, “Maybe the reason why he's gone there is Jose has thought maybe Everton can go and get a few points off the big boys with him in their team”. 

Seizing his moment so memorably in the Champions League match against PSV in the 2004/05 season, Ben Arfa was one of the most talented French players in Europe at that time. However, he was never Gerard Houllier’s first choice. In the 2010/11 season, Ben Arfa was sent out on loan to Newcastle. It was just four minutes into the match with Manchester City that the French talent was tackled by City’s defensive midfielder De Jong. It took Ben Arfa 11 months to get back on the pitch.

Unlike Eduardo (Arsenal), Ben Arfa soon found his place after recovering from injury. From the very beginning of this season, he was once again the key for the Tyneside outfit, opening the scoring from close range during the match against Aston Villa. Manager Alan Pardew hailed the French player, saying “he was magnificent, unplayable really”. Although failing to provide a steady performance in the matches against Everton and Hull City, Ben Arfa is still regarded as a role model for players looking to bounce back from injury.