Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny will miss Saturday’s north London derby, Arsene Wenger has confirmed.
The Arsenal goalkeeper went up to the Swansea penalty area in the final minutes of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat and ended the game clutching him hamstring after sprinting back towards goal.
Koscielny had already been ruled out of Wednesday’s game but is now set to miss the trip to Tottenham, a game Arsenal cannot afford to lose if they are to remain in the title race.
David Ospina will be pressed into action on Saturday, his first league appearance of the season, whilst Gabriel and Per Mertesacker are likely to remain in place at the heart of Arsenal’s defence despite struggling in defeat to Swansea.
Wenger said: “Cech got a muscular problem at the end of the game. He will not play on Saturday. I have full faith in [David] Ospina.”
The Colombian, who is eager to leave the club at the end of the season, has made just five appearances in all competitions this season.
Since his disastrous display against Olympiakos in the Champions League, where he dropped a corner into his own net, Ospina’s appearances have been confined to the FA Cup.
