Friday 12 December 2014 11:40, UK
Arsenal could go into this weekend's Saturday Night Football game against Newcastle with just one centre-back available.
Laurent Koscielny's ongoing Achilles problems mean he is unlikely to be fit, according to Arsene Wenger, and stand-in Nacho Monreal is still out with a foot injury.
And with Calum Chambers suspended, Per Mertesacker is set to form a fourth new defensive pairing against Alan Pardew's in-form visitors, who made it seven wins from nine games when they ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season last weekend.
Wenger said: "Our main problems are still defensively because Koscielny looks like he will not be quite ready, Monreal is not back and Chambers is suspended."
Wenger will have to be creative: Mathieu Debuchy could be asked to move inside if his manager wants an experienced player in the middle, but the France right-back made his first appearance in three months in midweek.
Reserve-team utility man Isaac Hayden can play at centre-half, but the 19-year-old has only just resumed outdoor training after a serious ankle injury and did not feature in the midweek trip to Galatasaray.
Several young players did make that trip, among them 17-year-old centre-half Stefan O'Connor, who made his debut as a late substitute for Debuchy.
Elsewhere there are further problems, with Aaron Ramsey needing a test on the hamstring injury that forced him off at half-time in Turkey, and neither Mikel Arteta nor Theo Walcott ready to return.
Watch Arsenal v Newcastle live on Sky Sports 1 this Saturday at 5.30pm.
