Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger will be hoping that the prognosis on the injury suffered by the Arsenal and Germany international defender Shkodran Mustafi last night in the final World Cup qualifying match against Azerbaijan will not prove to be too bad.
It looks like it is a muscle problem for the centre back and hopefully the damage will not be too bad and Mustafi will be back before too long, although it could be as long as two months on the sidelines for him. There is no getting around the fact that this is a blow for the Gunners and pretty symptomatic of the sort of bad luck we have been getting on the injury front for years, but I also think that it should not prove too damaging to our season, as long as no more defenders are ruled out in the near future.
Perhaps the timing of this injury to the German could be seen as good luck, because it comes just as we are due to see Laurent Koscielny and Calum Chambers fit again after their own minor fitness issues. And the boss does have decent options in defence.
Nacho Monreal has been fantastic on the left side of a back three lately and we have either Koscielny or Mertesacker to fill the central role, with Chambers and Holding competing for the right side, so even with the Europa League games and the League cup to consider, Wenger can rotate and keep everyone fit. There is also that theory that losing one player can open the door for another and this could prove top be the case for Chambers, who is now likely to feature in Europe and the cup.
How much do you think the Mustafi injury will hurt Arsenal?
Sam P.