Blue Monday was not a good day for Arsenal fans with the news that Hector Bellerin has done his cruciate and Sven Mislintat will be leaving when the January transfer window closes.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Hector Bellerin of Arsenal is stretchered off after receiving medical treatment during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on January 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 19: Hector Bellerin of Arsenal is stretchered off after receiving medical treatment during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on January 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Although Arsenal have yet to confirm any sort of timeframe for Bellerin’s layoff, the standard recovery time for an ACL rupture is six-to-nine months and while some outlets are reporting he faces a ‘fight’ to be fit for next season, he doesn’t. He simply won’t be fit for the start of the new season unless there is a miracle.

When Rob Holding popped his ACL earlier in the season, we asked Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT, a Wellness coach and performance specialist from LA about the problem.

He put together this brilliant video about the injury, why it happens, how surgery repairs the problem, and what Holding’s recovery should look like, all of which will likely apply to Bellerin as well.

As for Sven, the news finally came through that he is indeed leaving although, by the time Arsenal got around to announcing it, it was the worst kept secret in football.

sven mislintat
via Arsenal.com

Arsenal’s glowing goodbye letter, penned on their website, makes the whole situation even less understandable.

All this means that two of the three men who sat on the panel to pick Arsene Wenger’s successor have now left the club.

In gossip, Arsenal both moved closer to signing Denis Suarez on loan and didn’t as noted by Ornstein in the above tweet.

From the coverage in Spain, it does seem like the move could happen this week with the player wanting to move to Arsenal, not interested in any other club and Unai Emery reportedly giving him assurances over the playing time he will get when he arrives in London.