Arsenal’s latest injury blow surely rules out ‘unthinkable’ Man Utd transfer with ‘fed up’ star | OneFootball

Arsenal have suffered another injury blow, though this surely ruins any hope of Manchester United pulling off an ‘unthinkable’ January transfer…

It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Arsenal, who dropped points against Sunderland and Chelsea before Aston Villa ended their 18-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Still, the Gunners remain top of the Premier League, though their lead has reduced, and they have a perfect record in the Champions League group stages ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Club Brugge.

Arsenal have also advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, so they are well-placed to end their trophy drought by lifting at least one piece of silverware this season.

Their immense recruitment to build a near-complete squad in recent windows has strengthened the north London outfit, which is a relief for Mikel Arteta considering the amount of injuries they are dealing with.

Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are all currently unavailable, with Arsenal’s below-par makeshift centre-back partnership contributing to their rare loss at the weekend. 

Arsenal have the best squad in the Premier League, so they certainly have the tools this season to finally claim the title. But, as several pundits have pointed out, they could be the route of their demise, with injuries to key players potentially costing them again.

And on Wednesday morning, respected journalist David Ornstein revealed to The Athletic that teenager Max Dowman’s ankle injury is worse than initially feared.

The talented attacking midfielder picked up the issue from a challenge from a Manchester United player in a friendly at the weekend, with Arteta initially saying that he is “going to be out for weeks”.

However, Ornstein has since confirmed that he ‘is expected to be out for around two months after sustaining ankle ligament damage’.

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This is a blow for Arsenal and Dowman, who has established himself as a star for now and the future for his boyhood club.

But it also makes an ‘unthinkable’ Man Utd transfer involving Ethan Nwaneri even more unlikely.

On Tuesday evening, an insider on X claimed the Red Devils are ‘circling like sharks’ and they ‘want’ Nwaneri, who is ‘fed up at barely getting a kick’ for Arsenal.

The same outlet claimed Arsenal ‘need to sell a valuable player to fund future targets due to financial rules’, with a move to Man Utd said to be possible as Ruben Amorim is a ‘big admirer’.

Nwaneri, like Dowman, is a player whom Arsenal will be keen to keep for most of his career, as he has the potential to replicate and possibly exceed what Bukayo Saka has achieved.

And while the point that the Gunners ‘need to sell a valuable player’ is likely a truthful aspect of this dramatic report, they need to prioritise on-field success this season by not risking making Arteta’s squad weaker in January. If that means they are limited in next summer’s transfer window, so be it.

Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli also stand out as ‘valuable’ players who Arsenal can afford to lose more than Nwaneri, with exits for one or both of these attackers far more likely at some point next year.