Arsene Wenger Confirms Major Injury Blow Ahead Of Man Utd Clash

Arsenal are facing a major injury headache ahead of their clash with Manchester United after Arsene Wenger confirmed Laurent Koscielny has picked up a hamstring problem.

The French international was forced off during the Gunners shock 3-2 defeat to Olympiacos at the Emirates last night after appearing to tweak his hamstring while making a slide tackle early in the second half.

Speaking to the media at his post match press conference late last night, Wenger confirmed to Arsenal.com that Koscielny has indeed suffered a hamstring injury which will make his a major doubt for Sunday’s crucial showdown with United.

Wenger was criticised for resting Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey for the game last night following their surprise loss but the Gunners boss highlighted the Koscielny injury as an example of why top teams all rotate their squads these days.

The Frenchman told the clubs website:

on Koscielny…

It is a hamstring. This is why I rotate as we play many games. The other teams do it as well. You look at the other teams in Europe’s benches and you will see them rotate. You cannot play every three days without rotating your players That is a fact and you have to accept that.

Even a minor hamstring injury should take longer than a week to heal properly so it looks like Koscielny is almost certain to miss the visit of United to the Emirates this weekend.

It will be a huge blow for Arsenal as the 30-year-old is their best centre-back and they desperately need a positive result on Sunday to not only bounce back from the Olympiacos defeat, but also to also make a statement that they’re genuine title challengers.

United head to North London sitting top of the Premier League and three points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal so this is a big six-pointer for both clubs.

With Koscielny set to miss out, Per Mertesacker is expected to line-up alongside Gabriel at the back but Wenger will be hoping they defend a lot better than they did for Olympiacos’ third goal last night, that’s for sure.