If no news is good news during an international break, Arsenal have had far too much of it over the past fortnight.Those have not all been reasons for concern. Declan Rice, for example, pulled out of the England squad due to load management rather than any injury issues.He is being treated by the club's medical staff and the feeling is that Havertz will not face a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with any absence likely to last weeks rather than months.Double blow: Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis are both now injured for ArsenalGettyIf those timeframes prove to be correct, neither problem should be season-defining for Arsenal.The upcoming Premier League fixture list is, on paper, relatively kind. An away trip to Nottingham Forest is sandwiched by home matches against Leeds and Everton.Read MoreOne positive to come out of the international break has been the return to form of Viktor Gyokeres. He has scored three times in as many games for Sweden and has visibly looked more confident.The challenge will be taking that back to Arsenal, but the upcoming opponents are the kind of clubs his goals came against last season.However, these injuries to Tzolis and Havertz further draw into focus the transfer business Arsenal did over the summer.It was a gamble at the time and, barely a month on from the window shutting, it already feels like a mistake. How much of one will depend on whether Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze can deliver, assuming they come in as replacements.It was a gamble at the time and, barely a month on from the window shutting, it already feels like a mistakeArsenal went into the summer wanting to make a statement signing in attack, with the focus particularly on the left wing.Tzolis was brought in to replace Leandro Trossard as a player with good technical quality and impressive numbers in Belgium, but not as the ultimate solution. It was always intended that a marquee addition would be made alongside him.Arsenal could not pull that off. Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez both proved to be overly ambitious targets. Other options were considered but deemed to be lacking in either value or the necessary quality.Arsenal have built a squad equipped for all scenarios in defence and midfield, stacked with depth that can cope with injuries to any player. In attack, though, those same precautions have not been taken.It feels more like a case of hoping for the best - hoping that Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Havertz stay fit and that will be good enough. That has worked up to this point, with all three starting every Premier League game this season.That is not sustainable. It is not a case of hindsight being king, either. Arsenal have had big players injured for significant periods across the past four seasons.Opportunity knocks: Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres must now step upGettyIt is not a surprise that injuries have started to hit again. Havertz missed huge chunks of last season and the one before that.Eze is now set for a run on the left wing and a true test of whether he can consistently be a reliable option out wide for Arsenal.Noni Madueke can also be used on the left and would provide some much-needed pace to the attack, but he is also the back-up for Saka on the right.These are not yet major problems for Arsenal, but two injuries have already left things looking very stretched.The accusations that the summer transfer window was a misstep from Arsenal will only grow. It is now on Eze and Gyokeres to provide the case for the defence.
Arsenal transfer mistake exposed as major gamble gives Mikel Arteta problem
Full Article
Original Source
Read the full article at Standard →KhanList aggregates and links to publicly available news content. We do not host full articles from third-party sources. Always verify important information with original sources.