Arsenal could be without one of their top players for their season opener against Liverpool in a month’s time, with Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez recovering slowly from an ankle injury which he picked up at the Copa America.
The Daily Mail report that the Gunners are concerned that their talismanic attacking force will miss at least the first game of the season – which would leave Arsene Wenger facing the prospect of dipping into his reserve and youth sides for attacking reinforcements.
The attack-minded trio of Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil already look likely to miss the game against Liverpool on 14 August as Wenger allows them time to recover from their exploits at Euro 2016, while key centre-back Laurent Koscielny also looks set to be out of action.
With Danny Welbeck sidelined with a long-term injury, Theo Walcott currently looks like the man to lead the lines at the Emirates as Arsenal look to claim their first Premier League title in over a dozen years, with a rag-tag group of supporting players behind him.
Wenger is still said to be looking into the possibility of bringing in another striker to challenge Giroud, but there has been precious little movement bar reports of vague talks and scouting missions – with Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain thought to be top of the Frenchman’s target list.
Sanchez’s injury came to light in the aftermath of Chile’s Copa America triumph, the 27-year-old sharing a gruesome picture of a heavily discoloured lower leg after beating Argentina on penalties at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The Gunners are looking to go one better than last season’s league finish, which saw them sneak above Tottenham into second place at the last moment – although both teams ended comfortably behind champions Leicester.
