Per Mertesacker has recently been ruled out by Arsene Wenger for a few months following his injury, which has left him short of options once again at the back. The injury crisis seems to have become a recurring theme for Arsenal.
The priority was originally a striker but now there is more than one position he has to worry about. Wenger explained the type of injury his German defender suffered and the amount of time he will be out for.
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“He played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game and had a little pain on his knee. We found out the next day that it was much more serious than expected. He had surgery yesterday in Germany. It all went well. I know you will ask me for how long he will be out. I don't know that, it's months, but I don't know how long he will be out for.”
The Gunners did sign Rob Holding from Bolton Wanderers but the youngster is one for the future and will probably not feature in the Premier League as often. Gabriel’s unpredictability is also a worrying concern.
All these factors have forced Wenger’s hand and he has admitted he will dip into the transfer market once again. Speaking to Arsenal.com he said, “We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience.”
“We will see some of our young centre backs on Thursday as well. With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are looking to bring somebody in.”
Wenger unhappy with Lyon’s statement
Yesterday Lyon released a statement on their twitter account stating Arsenal had submitted a bid for Alexandre Lacazette and that the club had rejected the bid with the intent of keeping their striker.
Normally, it is unusual for clubs to reveal the transfer activity publicly and Wenger especially likes to keep his cards close to his pocket. But this strange course of action has upset the veteran manager.
He was clearly unhappy about the news and hit back at the club.
“Lyon is responsible for their own statements,’ the 66-year-old said. On the transfer front, I think the best option is always to keep as secret as possible. If we sign somebody, we will announce it but I cannot tell you much more on that.”
It remains to be seen if the manager will return for a second bite of the cherry but after Lyon’s statement he might have to look elsewhere
