The England midfielder fractured his leg during pre-season, and, according to the club’s official website, will now require surgery to his left fibula in order to get back to fitness. The surgery will come about as the player’s healing is not progressing as the club had originally hoped it would.
According to Arsenal.com, the player will be out for approximately three months, meaning that the Gunners will have to do without their dynamic midfielder until the winter.
The news is something of a nightmare for the Gunners, and will heap scrutiny on manager Arsene Wenger.
The manager took a major gamble during the summer by refusing to reinforce his squad with any outfield players.
While he signed Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech—an experienced campaigner who brings reliability and a big-game mentality to the back line—he refused to bolster the rest of his team.
The lack of transfer activity annoyed a great portion of Arsenal fans, with supporters taking to social media to vent their fury at Wenger’s decision not to invest further in his squad. In this piece by the Mirror, some of the best fan-reactions to the Gunners’ non-business in the transfer window are presented.
In not signing anybody, Wenger gambled on his existing options. This was always going to be a risky strategy, but now looks more so with the injury to Wilshere.
Injuries were a problem last term, with the likes of Wilshere himself, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Mathieu Debuchy all facing extensive time on the sidelines.
So far this term, Danny Welbeck has already been ruled out for an extended period [BBC Sport], while Wilshere’s misfortune takes him out of the equation until the dying weeks of 2015 at the earliest.
Finally, Wilshere plays a crucial role in the Arsenal midfield, and the loss of him specifically is a critical one.
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Beyond his two goals and one assist last season, he is a key figure at linking the more defensive-minded midfielders and Wenger’s forwards.
Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are all the wrong side of 30, and Francis Coquelin is a much more defensive-minded option than Wilshere. Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain must prove that they can overcome their previous injury concerns, as without the England international, Wenger might find himself short of cover as he did last term.
Will Wenger regret his transfer inactivity in light of Wilshere’s injury?