Arsenal have had bad luck with injuries in the last few seasons, undoubtedly, with important player after important player going down just when it looked like being a promising campaign for the English Premier League side.
However, to suffer a fracture on the ankle after being struck by a ball just about takes the cake, which is what happened to Olivier Giroud, who, Arsene Wenger confirmed is set for a long spell on the sidelines.
Speaking after the Gunners' tense 1-0 win over Besiktas in the Champions League qualifier, the manager revealed his number one striker would miss, at the very least, three months after undergoing surgery on his ankle, following an innocuous incident when the ball hit his ankle after a clearance from Sylvain Distin in the 2-2 draw against Everton, and that too in the 94th minute of the match.
"Giroud had surgery today from a broken tibia and he will be out for 3-4 months on the competition side," said Wenger on Wednesday night. "That means he will be capable to play again in the Premier League certainly at the end of December because he will be out for two months.
"By the time he comes back, that goes three to four months."
Considering Arsenal's track record of bringing through players from injuries, it can be safely said that the striker will, most probably, not be seen in action until the New Year. So, the obvious question to pose Wenger would be: Is there going to be a replacement then? Wenger's answer, of course, was typically, Arsene Wenger. "You ask me straight away who we will buy," he said. "I give you the answer straight away -- at the moment nobody."
While the situation is crying out for Wenger to loosen those purse strings and go out and buy a potent striker, the Arsenal manager, as always, has other ideas.
"If you want to make everyone happy, you just always buy players," said the 64-year-old. "But what is important is the performance on the football pitch and the solidarity we have shown tonight.
"Having said that, if you look at the players we have on the bench and those who are injured, we have players. I believe you cannot every time buy when a player is injured."
That is true to an extent, but to go more than half the season with Yaya Sanogo as your first-choice central striker, might be more than foolhardy. After all, while Alexis Sanchez played his heart out against Besiktas, scoring the winner, Arsenal's Plan A formation is based upon a physical No.9, who can hold up the ball, bring the ridiculously talented playmakers into play and work from there, of which Giroud was quite good at.
"[Alexis] can play there [as a central striker] his whole life," added Wenger. "I bought him to play as a striker, not to play only on the flanks."
With Theo Walcott set to return to action early next month, there is plenty of room for Sanchez to play down the middle, but, yet again, Wenger will be leaving himself short in that position, even if, apart from Sanogo, Lukas Podolski, Joel Campbell and even Walcott can all play in that position.
Wenger can also change his system and use one of his attacking midfielders as a "false nine", but then the manager is a fan of a big centre-forward playing down the middle, which would yet again point to the fact that, maybe there is a deal in the pipeline after all.
One man who will not be moving to the Emirates this summer, though, is Nicola Zigic, with Wenger shooting down rumours of the former Birmingham City striker joining Arsenal, after his agent was quoted as saying he had been contacted by the manager over a possible move.
When asked about the Zigic signing, Wenger was short and blunt, saying, "no," with the same answer given for Danny Welbeck as well, while the Arsenal boss also replied with a "no" to a question regarding if Radamel Falcao was in the club's price range.
Wenger, though, did admit he was open to bringing in a player, in any position, as long as it makes sense, with Arsenal also desperate for a defensive midfielder and a centre-back.
"We are open for any position as long as we feel that the player can strengthen the squad," he said. "Buy to buy, I don't see the purpose of that. If we find the players who we feel can give something to our squad, we will do it in any position. We are open but it has to be enough to buy. It has to make sense."
What does make sense is bringing in a player of the mould of William Carvalho, who can play as the first-choice defensive midfielder, and give cover at the back if needed as well, while also maybe looking at a move for a striker like Loic Remy, who, with Arsenal sealing a place in the Champions League, is available for just £8.5 million.
At the end of deadline day Monday, it will become clear if Wenger had a few tricks up his sleeve, or if he has run out of rabbits.
