This morning, Sky Sports stated that Arsenal’s World Cup winning centre-half Per Mertesacker will be unavailable for up to five months, due to a knee injury.
Mertesacker’s injury was sustained on Friday night in a 1-1 preseason friendly draw with RC Lens, the result salvaged by an exquisite chip courtesy of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The injury to Mertesacker could prove a headache for Arsene Wenger, as club captain Mikel Arteta departed to rivals Manchester City in order to join Pep Guardiola’s revolution as a coach. The German was expected to receive the armband due to his vice-captain status last term, now the experienced Petr Cech appears as the obvious choice.
Mertesacker’s centre-half partner Laurent Koscielny is currently receiving an extended holiday as a result of his Euro 2016 endeavours and with the jury still out on Gabriel Paulista, this could provide an opportunity for Arsenal’s latest addition, England U20 international Rob Holding.
Calum Chambers and new colleague Holding both competed in the Toulon tournament this summer, a tournament that saw an England team crowned as champions.
Akin to Chambers, Holding could be thrown in at the deep end to kick off his Arsenal career.
The squad has travelled to the US to take on the MLS All Stars.
