Rob Holding Out of the Season, Ozi, Ramsey and Koscielny Updates

What has been a part of Arsenal Football Club for so many years is gradually coming up once again. It is common to see players get laid off close to the end of the first half of the season and it isn’t any different this time – we have seen two cases just in the space of three weeks.

The latest Arsenal player to have followed the trend of long term injury issues is Rob Holding. The centre-back has been ruled out for about nine months with an anterior cruciate ligament problem. Holding ruptured his left knee following a collision with Rashford in the first half of the Premier League game with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night and had to be taken off on a stretcher by the medical crew.

It was not known initially how long he will have to miss out of action but we all knew at the time that it wasn't anything minor.  Even Unai Emery admitted it and expressed fears while facing the press after the 2-2 draw that saw the Gunners hit a stunning twenty game unbeaten streak. The 23-year-old, as announced by the club, will now have a  surgery in days to come.

This is coming as a big blow for Arsenal considering the impact the English international has had in the heart of defence so far this season. He is one of those who have massively improved under the new manager and his absence will no doubt go unnoticed.

This will be the second ugly injury the club will record in less than a month. About three weeks ago, it was Danny Welbeck that put his name on the injury list having landed badly during the UEFA Europa League match (against Sporting Lisbon) which ended in a goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium.  He injured his ankle, underwent two surgeries in four days and will be out for long, probably for the rest of the campaign as it is in the case of Holding.

The imminent return of Laurent Koscielny could act a consolation for us though. The French international has since returned to training and is gradually being integrated into the team to avoid a setback of the ankle problem he battled with for about six months. He recently featured in two games for the U23 side and according to Emery, he has a chance of playing against Qarabag in next week’s UEL match.

Another player that went off the United encounter was Aaron Ramsey but luckily enough, it was nothing serious. His involvement in our next game which is against Huddersfield at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday will however depend on his fitness which will be ascertained in training. As for Mesut Ozil, it will also be seen if he will be fit in time for the Premier League clash. The German international was not available to take part in recent games as a result of a back injury. The boss revealed the cause of his absence but some were of the view that there is more to his omission from the squad of late.

We wish Rob Holding a speedy recovery and he should be rest assured of our support in this nasty period.