Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Carl Jenkinson have been ruled out for six to eight weeks, after suffering injuries in the last week.
Arsenal confirmed the news on the club website. First, they explained that Maitland-Niles sustained a small fracture to his left fibula against Manchester City, which will rule him out for six to eight weeks. Then they added that Jenkinson has sustained a “significant sprain” to his right ankle and will be out for roughly the same length of time.
Presumably Jenkinson suffered the injury in training, because he hasn’t been playing for the u23s or the first team in recent weeks. It seemingly puts an end to any lingering hopes of a transfer for the 26-year-old this summer, as his options were already limited even before this injury setback.
Maitland-Niles’ absence, combined with confirmation from Arsenal that Sead Kolasinac won’t return to training until October, means that everything now rests on Nacho Monreal staying fit and playing every game at left-back.
The only other senior options are Stephan Lichtsteiner playing on the wrong side, or Danny Welbeck filling in like he has in training.
Of course, this is perhaps when Unai Emery should start to look to the academy for help. Tolaji Bola was a regular at left-back for the u23s last season, and he’s played the full 90 minutes in their last nine consecutive matches. He’s earned a shot in the League Cup matches, at least.