Arsenal will be without Alexandre Lacazette for up to six weeks as a result of the French striker’s knee operation, reports BBC Sport.
The 26-year-old, who missed a couple of sitters in the Gunners’s defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, had the operation on Tuesday. The club says it has been a success, adding: “He will now undergo a period of rehabilitation. It is envisaged he will return within four to six weeks.”
The news is a blow for Lacazette, who has struggled to reproduce the form that made Arsenal pay Lyon £52.7m for his services last summer. Relegated to the substitutes bench following the arrival at the Emirates last month of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, questions are already being asked about his future. Rumours suggest he could be moved on at the end of the season.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
In the short term, however, the absence of Lacazette in tomorrow’s Europa League last-32 tie against Ostersunds FK presents a problem. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cup-tied, Arsene Wenger has only one recognised senior striker in Danny Welbeck.
It may mean that the Arsenal manager takes a punt on Eddie Nketiah, who impressed the Gunners earlier in the season in the Carabao Cup. The 18-year-old Londoner has been compared to a young Thierry Henry.
Meanwhile caughtoffside reports that Wenger has held “direct talks” with Oguzhan Ozyakup and has offered him a deal for next season. The 25-year-old midfielder had a spell with the Gunners during the 2011-12 season, but his lack of opportunities prompted the Turk to move to Besiktas.
He’s since flourished in Turkey. Apparently he’s ready to return to Arsenal and replace Granit Xhaka in the centre of the park.
