Arsenal facing defensive shortage as they sweat on Laurent Koscielny fitness
Arsenal are facing an anxious wait to see if captain Laurent Koscielny will be fit enough to start against Southampton this weekend as Unai Emery faces up to a defensive crisis that threatens to wreck their unbeaten run.
Koscielny, who made his first appearance since May in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Qarabag, is the only recognised central defender who is available for Sunday’s trip to St Mary’s.
The Arsenal captain will be assessed on Saturday to see whether he is able to play two matches in the space of four days after so long out of action with a ruptured Achilles.
If Koscielny cannot start, Emery may have to field a central defensive pairing of Stephan Lichtsteiner and Nacho Monreal, two full-backs who have never started a game together in the Premier League.
Both Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi are suspended for the meeting with Southampton, while Rob Holding is out for an extended period after he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee. Konstantinos Mavropanos, meanwhile, is still suffering from a groin injury.
Emery may be forced to revert to a back four despite starting the last four Premier League matches with three central defenders. His preferred option is likely to be fielding Koscielny alongside Lichtsteiner and Monreal in a defensive trio.
“We have not got Mustafi, Holding or Sokratis, but I believe in our players and I think we can use other players as centre-backs,” Emery said. “I have one idea in my mind but we need to know how they will recover physically for the possibility of playing on Sunday.”
Aaron Ramsey is expected to be available for selection again following his minor ankle injury, while Mesut Ozil will be in contention to start after playing 83 minutes against Qarabag, when Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to 22 matches.
The game will be Southampton’s first home match under new manager Ralph Hasenhüttl. They have not won a game since September 1 — a run of 14 matches in all competitions — but Emery said he was surprised to see them in 19th place in the Premier League table.
“I have watched matches of Southampton and they have very good players with quality,” Emery said. “It is a surprise they are in this position. They have changed the coach but they have the same players and they will change things with the new coach. They will improve, I think. We know Sunday is a very difficult match — they will play with their supporters and push us a lot because they need to win.”
The Qarabag victory marked the start of a run of six matches before the end of the year for Arsenal, and Emery added: “We will need every player, good rest and recovery to play in other matches.
“The players against Qarabag helped us with their performances and quality. Maybe some can rest on Sunday, some can play. Some players were rested against Qarabag and will be OK for Sunday. Our process for each match is like that - rest, play, rest, play.”
