Van Persie and Walcott injuries leave Arsenal depleted in attack
Published:Arsene Wenger is facing a spell without a number of his attacking stars as Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott have added their names to Arsenal’s injury list.
Dutch striker Van Persie injured an ankle in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Blackburn in their last Premier League game and it has now been confirmed that he will be out of action until the middle of October.
The problem will mean that he could miss Arsenal’s first three Champions League games and a hatful of league fixtures, including the trip across London to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 3rd.
Their next game is at home against Bolton and they are 1/5 to end the unbeaten start that Owen Coyle’s team have made to the season.
However, Wenger will also be without Theo Walcott, who was stretchered off in England’s win over Switzerland with an ankle problem and was immediately taken to hospital to undergo x-rays.
England boss Fabio Capello stated that on the plus side Walcott’s ankle was not broken, but he would be out for around two weeks.
Danish striker Nicklaus Bendtner remains sidelined with a groin problem, while Samir Nasri is making good progress from knee surgery, but is yet to return to training.
These injuries will leave Marouane Chamakh and Andrei Arshavin as Wenger’s chief goal threats for the visit of Bolton, who are 14/1 to leave the Emirates with the three points and 5/1 to maintain their unbeaten record with a draw.
Arsenal will know that they have to win their home games to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea and are 9/2 to win the title come May.
Van Persie’s injury could guarantee Chamakh regular starts for Arsenal in the coming weeks and he is 33/1 to end the season as the Premier League’s top scorer. See the whole market.
