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Arsenal boss confirms double blow ahead of Chelsea + Sanchez injury

By on May 21, 2017

Arsene Wenger has admitted he expects to be without Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel for the FA Cup final while Alexis Sanchez is also a doubt to face Chelsea.

Koscielny is set to miss the Wembley showpiece after being sent off during the 3-1 win over Everton this afternoon following a reckless tackle in the 14th minute.

Some fans on Twitter felt it was a harsh decision [I didn’t] and while Wenger has also claimed Koscielny was unfortunate to be dismissed, the boss has seemingly ruled out an appeal and conceded that we’ll be without the Frenchman for the cup final.

We’re facing a defensive crisis as Gabriel was then stretchered off in tears in the second half after suffering suspected knee ligament damage.

Arsene has admitted the early signs are that the injury is serious so the Brazilian centre-back is almost certainly going to miss the Chelsea game next Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after the game today, the boss is quoted as saying by the Metro:

‘Gabriel’s injury looks quite serious, especially for next Saturday,’ said Wenger.

‘We lost two centre-backs and that is a big blow.

‘It looked spectacular [Koscielny’s sending off] but when you watch it again it looks harsh. What could we do?’

So with Kos and Gabriel out, Wenger has a big decision to make against Chelsea. He has to stick with the back three given our excellent form since adopting the system.

Mertesacker could be an option after making his first appearance of the season today but I’d go with Mustafi, Holding and Monreal as the back three next weekend.

It’s not just in defence where we have concerns as Alexis Sanchez is also seemingly a doubt for the Chelsea game after limping off in the second half against Everton this afternoon.

The Express claim Alexis pulled up with a suspected hamstring injury and went straight down the tunnel with the physio after being replaced by Alex Iwobi.

I haven’t seen any quotes from Wenger discussing Sanchez’s injury after the game so we’ll have to wait for more updates to come out over the coming days. Fingers crossed he recovers as it would be a devastating blow to lose him.

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