Yet Another Arsenal Defender Suffers Massive Injury Blow

Arsenal managers were puzzled by the cause of Per Mertesacker’s absence in the last few weeks, says the Daily Mail.

Mertesacker returned to full fitness and played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s 5-2 victory over Leicester City, and also came off the bench to replace Laurent Koscielny in the Gunners’ 3-2 Champions League defeat at the hands of Olympiakos on Tuesday.

The German ace had missed Arsenal’s previous four Premier League games, and Champions League opener due to an illness which, as per the Mail, was a chest infection.

And the club’s doctors and coaches were very confused by the 31-year old’s apprehension to take antibiotics in a bid to help clear up his illness, according to the report. The lanky defender may have been hurt with the decision, with Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista beginning to impress at the heart of defence in Mertesacker’s absence.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s defeat on Tuesday could spell doom for the North London club as they are now looking unlikely to qualify out of the group, with two matches against in-form Bayern Munich up next for them.

Also in the Premier League, the Gunners host Manchester United in a crunch game at the Emirates on Sunday, and the North Londoners will be hoping to defeat Louis van Gaal’s men to put them within touching distance.