Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has issued a worrying update on Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s injury ahead of this weekend’s Premier League meeting versus Southampton.
The Armenian had to be substituted at the hour mark of the 4-1 Europa League win over CSKA Moscow after he was the subject of a mistimed challenge from Georgi Shchennikov.
Speaking after the CSKA game, Wenger admitted that the 29-year-old has to be assessed to know the extent of the problem, but he is certainly out of Sunday’s home game against Southampton in the Premier league.
“Henrikh has a problem with his knee problem, we will assess it in the morning. We don’t know how bad it is but he’ll certainly be out for Sunday,” he is quoted as saying by Metro following the match.
Mkhitaryan did not contribute in terms of goals or assists versus CSKA, but he was a good attacking presence with his intention to take the ball forward at every possibility during the game.
Prior to his injury, Mkhitaryan has one strong shot at goal saved by goalkeeper Igor Ikinfeev, and he may have possibly got onto the scoresheet, had he completed the entire 90 minutes.
Arsenal have a healthy three-goal lead ahead of their Europa League quarter-final second-leg in Moscow next week, but Wenger will still be fancied to make numerous changes to the lineup this weekend.
Keeping the winning momentum remains essential at such a stage of the campaign, but a couple of key players including Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil may be rested having ran the hard yards on Thursday night.
Mkhitaryan has been a positive influence at Arsenal with two goals and five assists since his winter switch, and the Arsenal fans will be hoping that the injury setback is only a minor one.
