Arsenal’s German central defender Per Mertesacker will be sidelined for up to five months because of knee ligament damage suffered in a 1-1 friendly tie with Lens lastFriday.
The news is the latest blow for Coach Arsene Wenger‘s plans, following unsucessful bids for Jamie Vardy, Alvaro Morata and Lyon strikerAlexandre Lacazette.
How can they know right now exactly how long it will take for PM to recover? You almost never see a forecast like that. My best guess: as previous captain, Arsenal wanted to allow him a respectful way to back out. 5 months is, amazingly, when the transfer window opens. And Mertesacker has become a liability against these run-and-gun Premier League teams. So AW planned to buy a replacement CB, and this is their way of giving him an out.