Wenger Confirms Huge Double Blow As Arsenal’s Injury Crisis Deepens

Arsenal boss has confirmed a huge double injury blow with Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny ruled out of this weekend’s clash with Newcastle United at the Emirates.

Ramsey was forced off at half time during our 4-1 win at Galatasaray on Tuesday night with what was initially thought to be a very minor hamstring problem.

However, it seems the injury is worse than firs thought as the boss has now told reporters at his pre-match press conference this morning that Ramsey will miss tomorrow’s game.

Wenger says he doesn’t know the full extent of the injury until the results of last night’s scan come back, but many newspapers are reporting that the Welshman will be out for the entire Christmas and New Year period.

Wenger told reporters today:

“He only had a scan last night, but I don’t know full extent of injury,” Wenger said.

“It’s a shame because he was getting close to matching last season’s form.”

This is a substantial blow as Ramsey just looked like he was getting back to somewhere near his best form and he was superb during the opening 45 minutes against Galatasaray in midweek.

If the papers are correct and Ramsey is ruled out until the New Year, then he’ll also miss upcoming games against Liverpool, Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Southampton.

This is the last thing we need as Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere are also out injured so we have very few options left in the middle of the park. It looks like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla will fill in alongside Mathieu Flamini against the Magpies tomorrow.

If our problems in midfield are bad enough, they are nothing compared to the centre of defence as Wenger also confirmed this morning that Laurent Koscielny has been ruled out of this weekend’s game with a calf injury.

The Frenchman has already missed our last two games and with Calum Chambers suspended and Nacho Monreal also injured, it means Per Mertesacker is the only available central defender for tomorrow’s match.

The likelihood is that Mathieu Debuchy will have to fill-in at centre-back with Hector Bellerin and Kieran Gibbs in the full-back slots, which is hardly ideal against a dangerous side like Newcastle.

TEAM NEWS: Koscielny and @_nachomonreal are out. @CalumChambers95 is suspended and @aaronramsey is also out pic.twitter.com/qc6NtRkwkL

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 12, 2014

Wenger on Koscielny: "He has a calf strain and that's why he's out" http://t.co/YgssWomiHf pic.twitter.com/ZCvu9OVjli

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 12, 2014