Wenger confirms extent of Mertesacker’s knee injury, bad news

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Per Mertesacker will be out for a number of months.

The German central defender was expected to be appointed as captain of the first-team after proving his leadership skills and becoming a key member of the squad but suffered a knee injury in the first pre-season friendly against Lens last week in France.

However, the extent of the injury was unknown and it was revealed by the club that Mertesacker had been left out of the squad for the pre-season trip to the USA and remained in north London, with further tests expected later.

Speaking to the media during his news conference ahead of the club’s first friendly on Thursday night, Wenger revealed that the 31-year-old would be set to miss a ‘few months’ of action.

? The boss announces in his press conference that @Mertesacker will be out for “a few months” with knee injury pic.twitter.com/I11EbobQlN

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) July 26, 2016

Whether the injury prompts Wenger to purchase a new defender is yet to be seen but it is certainly likely that the likes of Gabriel, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers will be expected to play a more key role than expected – while Krystian Bielik could be see further first-team action this season.