There is yet more woe for Arsenal on the injury front. The Barcelona game in the Champions League is fast approaching, and Arsenal are facing an uphill battle to field a strong enough team who could challenge the goal hungry Catalans. Facing Barcelona is a match that can border on impossible to win at the best of times. With a front line that strikes fear into even the strongest defence in the land, and a defence that can drive out some of the most potent attackers around, when you play Barcelona with the objective of winning, you need a strong team.
Losing a four goal lead away to Newcastle on Saturday isn't going to inspire confidence into the Arsenal side, and at the same time, the poor result certainly won't see the Barcelona team quaking in their boots. It is made worse then, that some of Arsenal's brightest players this season look likely to miss the first leg on the 16th February.
The injury list is as follows: Samir Nasri, Lukasz Fabianski, Alex Song, Thomas Vermaelen and now Johan Djourou.
Johan Djourou was taken off in the eight goal thriller at Newcastle on the week end, and was feared may be out for the rest of the season with damage to his knee ligaments. However, it has since been confirmed that he has not suffered a serious injury, but bruising to the knee. The Swiss national doctor confirmed that Djourou could be back in training very soon: "Djourou is probably less than one week away of beginning training" - very good news for Arsenal fans.
Samir Nasri will return in around three weeks after suffering a hamstring strain last week which certainly rules him out of the Barca game.
Thomas Vermaelen has been out since early September but Arsene Wenger can now see the finishing line for his Belgian centre back. "Thomas Vermaelen is making very good progress so he should be [back in] three to four more weeks,” said the manager on February 3rd, which again, rules him out of the Barca game.
Lukasz Fabianski, the Polish goalkeeper has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The Polish goalkeeper has been sidelined since early January with a shoulder injury and he is about to undergo surgery to cure the problem.
Alex Song's injury isn't as serious as the above, and will most probably be back for the 16th, as he only suffered a kick, but the injuries above still highlight the problem that will face Wenger when the time comes for him to pick the defence against Barcelona.
In the immediate future however, Arsenal will be hosting Wolves at the Emirates, and it is Wolves who have all of the momentum. After ending Manchester United's 29 game Premier League unbeaten run, the players in orange will be on an almighty high as they continue in the fierce relegation scrap. Arsenal meanwhile will be deflated after their astonishing breakdown at St James Park. They will be without Abou Diaby due to his sending off in that game, and, of course, the casualties will be missing.
