The German defender has been ruled out of action for a number of months after undergoing knee surgery following the injury picked up during Arsenal’s pre-season friendly clash with Lens last week.
Advertisement
In a frank interview with the New York Times, Gazidis said: “We can’t afford to outgun competitors that have far more money to splurge on transfer fees than we do”.
‘[Per] played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game and had a little pain on his knee.
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal are in the market to sign a new defender in the summer transfer window after news of Per Mertesacker’s injury setback. He had surgery in Germany and it went well’.
“Been playing centre-back”, Coquelin said to camera, “been bossing it – you know what I mean?”
Though Wenger stopped short of disclosing how long the 31-year-old was set to be out, he did admit that he would be out for “months”.
With Laurent Koscielny requiring an extended leave after competing in the Euro 2016 Final, not to mention Gabriel Paulista out with tonsillitis at the moment, the Gunners are down to the bare bones on their California tour.
With central defence not necessarily a position the Frenchman would have strengthened more, his admittance that he is prepared to bring in someone with experience could point to a more temporary fix, or an older player that might sign on a single-year contract. A striker and centre-back have been his priority since the end of last season and it’s now up to the Gunners’ negotiation team to get those deals over the line before we see the familar scenes of Arsenal falling behind their title rivals yet again.
Advertisement
“On the transfer front, I think the best option is always to keep as secret as possible”.
