Arsenal suffer massive Xhaka injury blow

When the full-time whistle blew in the North London Derby on Sunday there wasn’t anyone without a grinning face in the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans were gleaming and there weren’t any Tottenham fans left to sulk.

It was a near perfect day, as it effectively always is when three points are secured in this fixture, but there was one negative aspect to the game that became clearer post-match.

Mikel Arteta was forced to substitute Granit Xhaka with eight minutes to go after a nasty collision with Lucas Moura, one that occurred in the build up to Spurs’ consolation goal.

The Brazilian couldn’t prevent himself from tumbling into the side of the Swiss midfielder as his knee bent sideways, and while Eric Dier did his best to force the midfielder up from the ground by claiming he was wasting time, replayed showed it was anything but that.

Arsenal suffer massive injury blow with Granit Xhaka set for extended spell on the sidelines after knee injury sustained vs Tottenham

Stating he was ‘pretty worried’ about the injury in his press conference, Arteta’s fears have been realised after further inspection by the medical team.

As per Andreas Boni, the results of Xhaka’s scan have revealed a ruptured inner ligament in his right knee. It’s an injury that will rule him out for at least 6 to 8 weeks, with the only positive being that a cruciate ligament tear can be ruled out.

While some supporters will be glad that Albert Sambi Lokonga now looks set to be given an extended run in the team, there is no denying that this is a huge blow for Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures given the length of the absence, as he could be out until late November. That means matches against Brighton, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Leeds (EFL Cup), Leicester, Watford, and potentially Liverpool and Newcastle.

Arteta will now have to rely on the Belgian, Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Martin Odegaard to partner Thomas Partey in midfield, and while Sambi and Odegaard are two players fans adore, it leaves that area of the pitch desperately thin should other injuries strike.

AFCON comes around in January with Partey and Mohamed Elneny departing, along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe, which takes a huge chunk of experience and leadership out of the side. Fortunately, he will be back before then.

Whether one sees Xhaka as a starting midfielder in this team or not, he’s still an option and a valuable one at that. Sambi is still learning his trade, Elneny is Elneny, Partey is injury-prone and the jury is still out on whether or not Maitland-Niles has the capacity to be an effective tool in that area for 90-minute matches.

It’s a massive blow. Other injuries may fall before his return and the only saving grace is that it wasn’t as serious, and that a two-week international break is coming up.