Robin van Persie out for at least six weeks

Last Sunday’s victory by Arsenal over Manchester United has come at a cost – Robin van Persie fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot while scoring the equaliser, and is likely to be out for at least six weeks. As Arsenal’s leading goalscorer this season this is quite a blow.

The only consolation is that Henry’s other strike partners such as Adebayor, Aliadiere and Baptista are all having runs of good form. It’s likely that Adebayor will get preference over the others. Arsenal will need all the strikers we can muster during this busy period while they compete in four competitions. However we may well see Aliadiere leaving during the January transfer window, despite his great performance against Liverpool in the Carling Cup.

Tonight sees the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Spurs. Wenger looks set to field his usual selection of reserves/youth players, but if they can repeat their performance against Liverpool they should be fine. Last night Chelsea secured their place in the Carling Cup final, so it’s going to be tough for the young Gunners to go all the way. However, Arsenal’s team spirit is great at the moment, so they have that over the Blues 🙂