Arsenal centre-back Rob Holding suffered an ACL knee injury during the game vs Manchester United and this injury has thrown a spanner to Unai Emery’s long-term plans.
Initially, it was thought the defender’s injury was minor and he would be out for only a couple of days but later the manager confirmed that Rob Holding will have to undergo surgery.
“He will undergo surgery to repair this in the coming days. The rehab process is expected to take between six to nine months.” Unai Emery said.
This means the player will be out for six to nine months and now the Gunners have to bring in a new centre-back during the January transfer window.
Some reports though have been claiming that instead of spending money on a new centre-back the manager is likely to call back Calum Chambers who is currently out on loan to Fulham.
Calum Chambers has so far played 10 games for Fulham in the Premier League and even a large section of the Arsenal fans want their club to call him back next month instead of signing a new player.
But as things stand brining Calum Chambers back to replacement Rob Holding will be impossible.
Standard Sport is claiming Arsenal will not be able to bring back Chambers simply because there is no clause in the loan contract which would allow an abrupt ending to his loan spell at Craven Cottage.
If this report is true then Arsenal will have to sign a new player during the January transfer window.
Apart from Rob Holding, Unai Emery’s other defenders are also not in top shape with the likes of Sokratis and Nacho Monreal just recovering from an injury while Shkodran Mustafi is still sidelined with a hamstring injury – but he is expected to return by the end of this weekend.
