Wenger lament on Giroud’s injury

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has lamented that he cannot afford further injuries over the busy Christmas period after Olivier Giroud suffered a hamstring problem during a 1-0 win over West Ham in Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Emirate.

Wenger, who made 11 changes from the weekend triumph over Newcastle, saw his side struggle to break down the defensively resolute visitors in the first half.

But England forward Danny Welbeck broke West Ham’s resistance just before the break, turning in Mathieu Debuchy’s header across goal as the hosts stayed on course for a first League Cup win since 1993.

Giroud sustained the muscular injury late in the second half which means Arsenal go into their festive schedule with Alexandre Lacazette as their only fit centre forward.

Giroud will undergo a definitive scan today, but early fears are that the France striker will miss a minimum of three weeks.

“It was a positive night apart from losing Olivier Giroud,” said Wenger.

“He looks out for Friday (against Liverpool). It doesn’t look very good. A hamstring injury is normally 21 days so it looks like he is out for Christmas.

“We will normally do scan 48 hours after then we will have an idea of the grade. But when you hear him, the pain is quite big. But the grade is not always linked with the pain.

“What is very worrying in my job is when you start to lose players. You can’t then afford to lose another one or another one.

“I have to look at how I manage the schedule. It puts more pressure on the rest of the squad, But I still have [Theo] Walcott, [Danny] Welbeck and [Alexis] Sanchez who can play up front.”

In a further blow, Francis Coquelin also limped off with a hamstring problem, but Wenger is hopeful the midfielder will be available for Friday night’s visit of Liverpool.