Mesut Ozil’s misery during his debut season at Arsenal is set to continue, after he picked up a hamstring injury at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Gunners fans rejoiced when Arsene Wenger splashed out a club record £42.5million for the German international on deadline day in the summer, but after a bright start, the former Real Madrid playmaker has struggled to make an impact in England. And he was again disappointing at the Allianz Arena, when the Londoners held the mighty Bayern to a 1-1 draw but crashed out of the UEFA Champions League 3-1 on aggregate.
To compound matters for Ozil and the Emirates Stadium club, the 25-year-old – who missed a penalty in the first leg – picked up a hamstring injury and was replaced at half-time. Speaking after the match, Wenger revealed that the injury sustained by his big-money signing is likely to result in an absence amounted to a few weeks.
“It looks quite serious,” conceded the French coach in the wake of another European disappointment. “I don’t know (how long he will be out for), but for sure he is out (of the Tottenham Hotspur game on Sunday). We have to make a scan tomorrow to see how bad it is but he’s out for at least a few weeks. I hope it’s not too bad.”
If it transpires that Ozil will be out for a month, as initially suspected, he will not only miss the Premier League match with Spurs, but also trips to Chelsea and Everton, as well as home games against Swansea City and Manchester City. Wenger will hope to have him back in contention for the FA Cup semi-final with Wigan Athletic on 12 April.
This is the latest blow for Arsenal, who are currently without a number of first team options. Jack Wilshere was last week ruled out for six weeks with a foot injury, which is a similar problem currently experienced by Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo. Theo Walcott, of course, suffered a knee injury during the FA Cup win over Tottenham in January which has ruled him out until next season. Abou Diaby, who has not been seen since last March, has a similar problem, whilst Nicklas Bendtner is also suffering from a knee injury and Kim Kallstrom is yet to play since joining in the New Year due to a back problem.
In brighter news, Aaron Ramsey, the Wales international, could return for the derby at White Hart Lane this weekend. The influential midfielder, who has eight goals in the Premier League this season, has been out with a thigh problem since December, but is now expected to return to the fold for the business end of a campaign in which the only realistic chance of finally ending the long wait for a trophy comes in the FA Cup.
