Arsenal confirm fresh injury blow ahead of Watford clash

Arsenal have confirmed that Alexandre Lacazette won’t feature for the rest of the month as he requires additional rest to completely recover from the ankle problem sustained during the Emirates Cup in pre-season.

The France international has been nursing the injury since the beginning of the campaign and manager Unai Emery acknowledged earlier this month that it was the reason behind the striker starting on the bench.

Ahead of the weekend’s league clash against Watford on the road, the Gunners have confirmed that Lacazette has not entirely recovered from the ankle concern and he needs to rest for the remainder of the month in order to ‘strengthen his ankle to regain full fitness’.

“After assessments to an ongoing ankle issue, we have advised that Alex will need to rest and strengthen his ankle to regain full fitness. Alex has been playing through this injury for several weeks. He is likely to be back in action in October,” a statement on the club’s website read.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lacazette have netted five of the club’s six goals in the current Premier League season and the latter has contributed two of those including the crucial strike before the break in the north London derby this month.

As a result, the Frenchman’s injury is undoubtedly a big blow for the club for the next few weeks but manager Unai Emery will be hoping that the other attacking players can step up to the plate.

Nicolas Pepe has yet to find the net in four appearances since his club-record move and he will surely be desperate to break the goalless streak when the Gunners make the short trip to face the Hornets.

In the absence of Lacazette, Aubameyang is likely to be handed with the centre-forward role and that could see Reiss Nelson or even Mesut Ozil feature on the left side of the attack.