It is rare enough for Arsenal fans to get any good news on the injury front, with recurring problems to the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil having ruined the end of last season and the start of this one. So to get two pieces of good news in the same week is almost unheard of for the Gunners.
The first and perhaps most important piece of news is the report in the Daily Star that reveals that news of the latest serious injury setback to the unluckiest man in football, our French midfielder Abou Diaby, has been flatly denied by an Arsenal source.
It had been reported earlier this week that the 28-year old had suffered a hamstring strain that would rule him out of action for another three months and effectively draw the curtain on his career as a Gunner. But the paper apparently contacted Arsenal and were told that Diaby has not damaged his hamstring at all. When we might see the central midfielder back in action, however, is not clear but he is continuing his recovery.
The second piece of good news, while it does not directly affect Arsenal anymore, is still good to hear for Arsenal fans, because our former captain Thomas Vermaelen, who pretty much forced his £15 million transfer to La Liga club Barcelona this summer, is still injured and has yet to play a single minute for them.
The Daily Star have actually been told that the Belgian defender had a problem that showed up in the medical but the club chiefs ignored the advice not to sign him, probably because of the transfer ban they are now under. So anyone who might think Wenger was mistaken to allow the defender to leave because of our own defensive injury problems, at least we now know that Vermaelen would not have been available anyway.
That £15 million we got for him is now looking like a very good deal for Arsenal, as long as Wenger spends it on a good centre back in January of course.