Arsenal injury news: Santi Cazorla out for the season

Arsenal injury news: More Jack Wilshere woe as Sanchez returns?

3 August

Arsenal fans could be forgiven for experiencing a feeling of deja vu as the new season approaches. Not only are there rumblings of discontent over the lack of summer signings, now comes the news that Jack Wilshere is injured and could miss the start of the campaign.

The injury-prone midfielder could miss the pre-season jaunt to Scandinavia after picking up a knee injury during the club's US tour.

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Wilshere sustained a knock to his kneecap and missed the final match of the trip against Chivas de Guadalajara, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"Although he watched the match from the sidelines and is not believed to have suffered a serious injury, his past record has prompted inevitable concern," it continues.

Manager Arsene Wenger will now "wait before deciding about including Wilshere for the matches against Viking on Friday and then Manchester City in Gothenburg on Sunday".

Wilshere will undergo a late fitness test before Arsenal head abroad, says the London Evening Standard, which raises the spectre of the midfielders' previous injury woes.

"He remains in contention for the opening weeks of the campaign, but Wenger may choose to rest a player who suffered a near season-ending injury this time last year," the paper says. "A tackle from Gabriel just days before the 2015 Community Shield saw Wilshere break his fibula, the midfielder did not play again for nearly nine months."

Now 24, Wilshere has not played a game in every month of the season since 2010-11 and despite making his debut in 2008, has only started 80 league games for the Gunners.

Arsenal are already without injured duo Danny Welbeck and Per Mertesacker for the start of the season, while Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny are on extended breaks after Euro 2016.

There has been good news, though, with Alexis Sanchez set to feature in Scandinavia after overcoming an ankle injury sustained at the Copa America.

Arsenal injury news: Mertesacker out, defensive crisis looms

27 July

August is nearly upon us, which means the start of the new Premier League season is just a couple of weeks away and right on cue Arsenal are facing their traditional summer injury crisis. Twelve months ago the Gunners were reeling from the news that Jack Wilshere would be sidelined for months (along with Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck) with a fracture in his left fibula.

Now comes the confirmation from Arsene Wenger that centre-back Per Mertesacker will be out of action until the end of the year and will join Welbeck (sidelined with another knee injury) and Alexis Sanchez in the treatment room.

Wenger admitted the seriousness of the problem with Mertesacker after Arsenal arrived in the US for a pre-season tour, notes Sky Sports.

The German defender injured his knee during a game against French outfit Lens last week and it was rumoured that the knock was more serious than the Arsenal medical staff initially let on. This was underlined by the fact that Mertesacker didn't travel with the Arsenal squad to the States at the start of this week, and now Wenger has admitted the injury will deprive him of the veteran defender for months.

"We have bad news for Per Mertesacker," Wenger said at a news conference in San Jose, California. "He finished the game [vs Lens] and had a little pain in his knee. And he found out the next day that it was much more serious than expected. He had surgery yesterday [Monday] in Germany and it all went well."

Asked when he expected to see the 31-year-old back on the field, Wenger replied: "I don't know. A few months, but I don't know how many exactly."

Arsenal play the MLS All-Stars on Thursday night, another in the round of meaningless but money-spinning friendlies that Premier League clubs indulge in before the start of the season proper. In Arsenal's case that begins with the visit of Liverpool to the Emirates on 14 August, and the loss of Mertesacker is undoubtedly a blow.

Laurent Koscielny is still on holiday after his exploits with France in the recent European Championships while Gabriel Paulista is absent from the USA tour because of a bout of tonsillitis.

That leaves Calum Chambers and new signing Rob Holding, a rookie 20-year-old who's signed from Bolton, as the only other options for Wenger. "With Per out, we are a bit short," admitted the Frenchman. "We have to look at all options to get a bit more experience. We'll see some of our young centre-backs on [Thursday] as well."

Arsenal injury news: Alexis Sanchez sparks striker crisis

14 July

There is still a month to go before the new Premier League season but incredibly, Arsenal are already facing an injury crisis that could mean Chuba Akpom starts up front in the opener against Liverpool.

Arsenal, whose annual quest to sign a top-class striker has so far failed, are currently sweating on the fitness of Alexis Sanchez, who suffered an ankle injury of the Copa America final last month.

"The Gunners are closely monitoring their star man's recovery but fear the Chile international could miss the start of the new campaign," reports the Daily Mail. "Arsene Wenger will be desperate for his talismanic attacker to be fit for the clash against Jurgen Klopp's men, particularly given he is already set to be without a host of his top attacking talent."

Danny Welbeck is sidelined with a long-term knee injury and fellow attackers Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil are not due back at the Emirates until 8 August. They have been given a break following Euro 2016 and it is unlikely they will be ready for action by 14 August, when the season begins.

That leaves the manager with Akpom and Theo Walcott as his "frontline choices" against Liverpool, says Team Talk, which notes that Yaya Sanogo is back at the Emirates but will probably spend another season out on loan.

Joel Campbell would be an option, but the Costa Rican has failed to convince Wenger in five years as a Gunner and is tipped to leave in the coming weeks.

The likes of Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla will be available, but the situation only serves to highlight the lack of goalscorers in the Arsenal ranks.

It is against that backdrop that the club posted a tweet looking forward to the start of the season.

It did not go down well with fans, who have grown frustrated by the injuries and lack of transfer activity at the Emirates in recent seasons.

The message "was met with almost universal disapproval", says Metro. "While the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea go about their transfer business with ruthless efficiency, Arsenal have added only Granit Xhaka and Japanese novice Takuma Asano, who is likely to spend next season out on loan, to their modest ranks."