Arsenal already receive a huge blow before the season begins
By Kian Long
As an Arsenal fan, this is quite frankly typical.
There are three things can be considered inevitable in this lifetime; death, taxes and an Arsenal defender injuring themselves at an important stage. It seems to be a telling factor for fans in recent seasons, with defenders requiring treatment before cup finals, derby matches, etc.
And, to no great surprise, it’s happened again. According to a report from the Telegraph, the Brazil defender David Luiz could be set to be on the sideline for the first month of the 2020/21 EPL campaign. It would be his second with the Gunners, after coming off the back of a nice FA Cup final win against his former club Chelsea.
It means that Mikel Arteta might need to rush William Saliba into action. However, if he is anything like the manager he learnt from Pep Guardiola, rushing new signings into action straight away would be out of his comfort zone.
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Of course, Arsenal do have a plethora of options in the defence. Not only Saliba, but Pablo Mari was also signed on a permanent basis, with Shkodran Mustafi showing impressive form in the previous project restart before his injury.
So, should Arsenal fans panic? No, of course not. While the Gunners do have some important matches in the opening matches, they are not exactly short-handed to deal with the blow. Luiz will be cheering on from the sidelines and Arteta is more than equipped.
The Gunners kick off this Premier League campaign on Saturday in a London derby against the newly-promoted Fulham. That said, they shouldn’t have *too* many problems with Luiz missing, but you can never be certain in the EPL. Still, Arteta heads into most games filled with confidence, so this will be no different.
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Do you think Arsenal will cope with not having Luiz available for selection?