The latest update from Arsenal on defenders Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis indicate both good and bad news for the injuries suffered by the pair on Friday night.
The FA Cup Fourth Round clash with Manchester United couldn’t have gone much worse for Unai Emery’s side, they weren’t just defeated by one of their historic rivals – they were embarrassed by the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and the enigmatic Jesse Lingard at their home.
Lingard tagged the Gunners’ beloved Emirates as his “Dancefloor” and former Arsenal ace Sanchez took trolling to a unparalleled level by posting a mockup of Will Smith’s ‘I am Legend’ to his dogs’ Instagram account.
It looks as though Arsenal will be down to barebones in defence for at least a month.
According to Arsenal’s official website, Koscielny’s jaw is bruised and swollen rather than broken and the veteran stalwart is being assessed on a daily basis.
Unfortunately Greek centre-back Sokratis has been ruled out until at least the end of February, Koscielny will have to brave through his injury to cover his teammate for the next month or so.
Fans will be happy to learn that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is being integrated back into full training, the Gunners could do with more options in the final third – Mkhitaryan’s return could mean that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t have to sacrifice his prowess in front of goal to play on the wing anymore.
This could be the worst time for the Gunners to suffer more injuries to their defenders, they have a two-game week coming up with them hosting relegation candidates Cardiff on Tuesday evening and then a daunting trip to Manchester to face Pep Guardiola’s City on Sunday afternoon.
City’s attack is frightening enough and now Arsenal fans could be forced to see them at their full force against a makeshift Gunners defence.
