Arsenal are facing a defensive shortage ahead of the
new season with Per Mertesacker poised to be a long-term absentee due
to a knee injury.
Mertesacker has been left out of the club’s pre-season
tour of America and losing the 31-year-old represents a serious setback for
Arsene Wenger.
It leaves Arsenal with a problem for their first game of
the season against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on August 14.
Laurent Koscielny is not back after Euro 2016 and Wenger
is normally reluctant to rush players into action after a major tournament.
Wenger likes to give players at least four weeks rest and Koscielny played for
France in the Euro 2016 final on July 10.
But with Mertesacker sidelined and Gabriel and Calum
Chambers the only alternatives at centre-back, Wenger may be forced to play
Koscielny.
Wenger is expected to clarify the extent of Mertesacker’s
injury at a press conference this evening.
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