Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny will miss Saturday’s crunch north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur through injury.
Koscielny had missed just three Premier League games this season heading into the midweek round of fixtures, but missed Wednesday evening’s shock defeat to Swansea City after picking up a knock.
And in dire news for Arsenal fans, it has now been revealed that the France international will be unavailable for Saturday lunchtime’s crucial top-of-the-table clash with Spurs at White Hart Lane.
Arsene Wenger confirmed in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s loss to Swansea that his No.6 “has a calf problem”,
subsequently ruling him out of action to the short trip to Spurs, as reported by the club’s official website.
It comes as a bitter blow to the Gunners, who will have been hopeful of drawing level on points with their fierce rivals, who also lost on Wednesday.
Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to West Ham United was just their fourth of the Premier League season and second away from home.
Both north London teams were bidding to close the gap to leaders Leicester City after Claudio Ranieri’s men could only manage a draw against West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
Wenger’s charges remain three points behind Tottenham and six behind Leicester, meaning Saturday’s meeting could all but
end Arsenal’s title challenge if they lose in the derby and the Foxes beat Watford at Vicarage Road.
But with Koscielny on the sidelines – and Petr Cech also ruled out of the trip after suffering a hamstring knock – it will be a tough task for Arsenal to win against Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
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