Wenger announced on Friday that his new club captain, Per
Mertesacker, will ‘be out for a few months’ following a serious knee injury.
The news of Mertesacker’s set back comes at a time when
Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal’s strongest defender, battles to be match fit in
time for the start of the Premier League campaign following his exploits at
Euro 2016 with France.
Expected to delve into the transfer market to find a
replacement, Wenger has decided to turn to his 25-year-old holding midfielder
Francis Coquelin to help fill the void.
Preparing for their high-profile pre-season friendly against
the MLS All-Stars, Coquelin confirmed on Snapchat that he had spent the
majority of training practicing his defensive skills:
Mertesacker, who underwent surgery on his knee on Tuesday,
forced Wenger to admit he needs to find an alternative in that position.
"We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience.
With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are
looking to bring somebody in."
"[Per] played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game
and had a little pain on his knee."
"We found out the next day that it was much more serious than
expected. He had surgery in Germany and it went well."
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