The Arsenal injury curse struck once more last night as Arsene Wenger saw no fewer than four Gunners join the already damaging injury list. Losing the three defenders Gabriel, Mertesacker and Monreal in one game just about sums up our luck and gives the boss a real problem for the FA cup quarter final against Watford on Sunday.
But as the Frenchman said himself, the most serious injury was the thigh problem picked up by Aaron Ramsey and not just because he is likely to be out of action the longest. Losing Ramsey gives the Gunners a big problem in the centre of the pitch and it is just as well that Wenger used the January transfer window to sign some cover in the shape of Mohamed Elneny.
But the Egyptian is new to the club and to English football so I don’t think we can rely on him to adequately replace Ramsey. There is some good news, however, as The Mirror is reporting that Arsenal are set to welcome back Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere at the beginning of April.
And because the win over Hull means we now face a cup quarter-final with Watford this weekend instead of the Premier League clash with West Brom, as well as there being an international break around the corner, Wenger only has one Premier League game to get through before Cazorla can come back into the centre of midfield.
So if Arsenal can win away to Everton next weekend with Elneny and Coquelin, we should have our best midfield pairing back for the Premier League run in and that might just help us to put a strong run of results together and put the pressure on Leicester and Tottenham.
So will Santi’s return be just in time or will it be too late?