Arsenal lose another star after Nasri breaks leg
ARSENAL’S pre-season preparations suffered a hammer blow yesterday when midfielder Samir Nasri was ruled out for up to three months with a broken leg.
The France international, who scored seven goals in 44 appearances last season, fractured a fibula during a training session at the club’s camp in Austria. Nasri’s injury came just days after Arsenal lost the services of another first-team regular in Emmanuel Adebayor, who was sold to Manchester City for £25m. And it may force manager Arsene Wenger to step up attempts to bolster his attacking options, with the Premier League kick-off less than four weeks away.
The playmaker missed the Gunners’ 7-1 pre-season win over Austrian minnows SC Columbia last night. Usually deployed by Wenger on the left wing, Nasri is unlikely to be fit for first-team action until October at the earliest. That means he will miss league clashes against Everton, Manchester United and big-spending City, as well as the first two Champions League group games, should Arsenal progress from the qualifying round.
Wenger has a ready-made replacement in Czech star Tomas Rosicky. But it is far from certain he will stay fit, having just returned from an 18-month lay-off – the latest in a series of injuries to plague the 28-year-old.
Wenger has admitted interest in Bordeaux forward Marouane Chamakh and been linked with Toulouse’s Andre-Pierre Gignac.