There were pictures of the squad on a certain tarmac with some Fly Emirates staff but some certain sharp eyed fans like K_Sturna noticed that the club captain wasn’t on that photo. C’mon, a player of his stature is certainly not hard to find. Injuries and Arsenal are two things that have been synonymous in recent years, and it seems as if that trend is set to continue in the new campaign.
With Arsenal playing a MLS AllStar squad on Friday, it’s evident that the team would be desperately short in the back when Gabriel Paulista left back at London Colney because of tonsilitis problem that was reported earlier in the campaign. Things are looking really grim as it has been confirmed that imminent club captain, Per Mertesacker, has suffered a knee injury and he’s scheduled to miss up to five months.
With Laurent Koscielny still on his extended break following his Euro 2016 exertions, Arsenal is left with just Calum Chambers and new signing, Rob Holding, as the center backs available for selection. Nacho Monreal and Matt Debuchy have featured in makeshift center back roles, but with Sky Sports reporting that Bordeaux is bracing themselves to make an official bid for the French fullback, he’s more than likely to leave.
It’s important to see how Wenger and the Arsenal hierarchy respond to this predicament. Arsenal has been renowned to be a reactive side when it comes to some certain kinds of signings, but I have a hunch that Wenger would prefer to see Gabriel grow, than splurging in the transfer market for a new center back.
We will have to keep our fingers crossed though.
Sayonara
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