If Arsenal were looking for some sort of helping hand ahead of our latest attempt to reclaim the Premier League trophy, then we will have to look elsewhere than the Copa America tournament currently going on in Chile. We can still hope that our star man Alexis Sanchez and reported transfer addition Arturo Vidal get through their remaining two games without injury, but Arsene Wenger will still have to get the new season underway without them.
The Gunners are not the only team affected, as a report in The Mirror explains that no fewer than 18 players could be unavailable for the Premier League opening games, but the way the South American tournament has gone has not been kind to us.
Man City and Man United still have players involved, with the Etihad club the worst affected with their Argentina stars Aguero, Zabaleta and Demichelis going all the way to the end next weekend. But after Brazil were surprisingly knocked out by Paraguay on penalties last night and Colombia have already gone, Chelsea should have their players back in time, or at least sooner than us.
They had Willian and Felipe Luis in the Brazil squad and are rumoured to be ready to take Falcao on loan and so the luck has gone their way. Liverpool have also been handed a boost with their new signing Firmino and their key midfielder Coutinho heading home early.
We saw last season how damaging a slow start to the season can be so the last thing we want is for any of our rivals, especially Chelsea, getting a head start. Do you think the Copa America will damage our chances of the title?