After Friday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, Arsenal could change their priorities for January transfer targets as they planned to so sign only loan deals but now face injury crisis.
Sokratis and Laurent Koscielny were forced to leave the field because of injuries with Arsenal ending the game with a central defensive pairing of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi.
Unai Emery’s side are set to play two crucial matches against Manchester City and Cardiff but they will be without some of their key players. The list of unavailable players are as follows:
Sokratis
The centre-back limped off during the first half of the game against Manchester United after a heavy landing on his left ankle.
Laurent Koscielny
The Arsenal skipper was kicked in the face by Romelu Lukaku while he was lying on the floor. The impact left the centre-back bleeding from around the ear and after being treated on the pitch for close to 10 minutes, he was eventually replaced and had to be taken to hospital amid fears he had fractured his jaw. The defender has started to find his top form after Achilles injury.
Hector Bellerin
Arsenal’s right-back has been ruled out for up to nine months after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his left knee against Chelsea last weekend.
The Spaniard had surgery during the week and will now start his long rehabilitation process.
Rob Holding
Rob Holding ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Premier League game against Manchester United in December and has ruled him out for the rest of the season as well as the start of the 2019/20 campaign.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenia international has just started light training again after he fractured a metatarsal during the League Cup defeat by Tottenham.
Danny Welbeck
Welbeck broke his ankle during the Europa League game against Sporting CP in November and is unlikely to play again this season.