Arsenal Team News: Wenger’s Update On Wilshere, Gabriel & More Ahead Of Liverpool

Arsene Wenger has offered an update on several of his players ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners were dealt a huge injury blow on Sunday night after Gabriel was stretchered off during the north Londoners 3-2 friendly win over Manchester City.

The Brazilian international suffered an ankle injury and while the problem wasn’t as bad as first feared, Wenger is still going to be without the centre-back for up to eight weeks.

With Per Mertesacker also on the sidelines with a knee injury, it leaves Arsenal short of options at the back. Wenger says the German is back with his family in Hannover recovering but will be out for up to five months.

Jack Wilshere missed Arsenal’s final pre-season matches after suffering a knee injury and although the midfielder is back in light training, the England international won’t be available to face Liverpool on Sunday.

Wenger also gave an update on Carl Jenkinson with the full-back expected to return in November while Danny Welbeck won’t be back until the start of 2017 due to a serious knee injury.

Here is what Wenger told Arsenal.com:

on Gabriel…

Gabriel has an ankle problem, and will be out for six to eight weeks. It is a bit better than we feared at the start.

on Jack Wilshere…

Jack is doing well, but he will be short for Sunday. He is back in training but will not be completely ready for Sunday.

on Carl Jenkinson…

Carl is doing well, and he should be back in November. He is on schedule for his return.

on Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck…

We had very good news on Danny’s latest scan and Per is at the moment off his feet for three weeks, so of course if is a bit boring for him. He is with his family in Hannover, but on the football front he is very frustrated. We think it will be four to five months for both players.

With Gabriel and Mertesacker out, Wenger may be forced to rush Laurent Koscielny back in to action sooner than expected with the Frenchman only returning to pre-season training on Monday.

Calum Chambers or summer signing Rob Holding are vying for starts at the back while the Arsenal boss could choose to move Nacho Monreal in to the centre of defence and bring Kieran Gibbs in at left-back.