Olivier Giroud will consult a specialist on Wednesday to ascertain the extent of the ankle injury sustained in the final minute of added time at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Arsenal resigned to being without their striker for the long term.
The France international hurt the joint in an innocuous incident as he collected the ball just moments after heading the visitors’ equaliser against Everton. Giroud has undergone two scans overseen by Arsenal’s medical staff, with the club pessimistic over what those examinations have revealed, though they will now seek the prognosis of a specialist tomorrow – on the day the first-team attempt to overcome Beskitas to force passage into the Champions League group stage – before confirming just how long the forward will be absent.
“He will not play tomorrow,” said Wenger when asked about Giroud’s injury. “He will see a specialist here in England tomorrow and, afterwards, we will make an announcement as to how long he’ll be out. I don’t know [how serious it is], but it can be [long-term]. We’ll see tomorrow. It’s sad for us, but for the moment we are focused on tomorrow’s [Wednesday’s] game.”
Asked whether Giroud’s absence would prompt him to secure another forward in what remains of the current window before Monday’s cut-off, Wenger said: “I don’t know. We are 24 hours from a big game and our focus is more on that than the transfer window. But I’ve learned one thing in our job: you say nothing ‘categorically’.”
Arsenal will have Yaya Sanogo back from a hamstring tweak against the Turkish side, with the young Frenchman joined by Lukas Podolski on the training pitch at London Colney on Tuesday morning. Both are options up front in Giroud’s absence, along with the Chile international Alexis Sánchez who started there at Goodison Park before being withdrawn at half-time. “Of course I feel we have the options,” said Wenger. “Why should I not have that confidence? If you imagine that, in any squad, when one player is missing no matter how big the player is that the team cannot win a game any more … well, nobody could imagine that.”
He will also be without the suspended Aaron Ramsey against Besiktas, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain likely to start the game alongside Mathieu Flamini. Arsenal have qualified for the group stage in each of the last 16 seasons, with progress worth around £20m in revenues. “For us it’s very important to qualify,” added Wenger. “We want to play at the top level, so it’s a very important game, more on the sporting side than the financial side. Nothing is unthinkable. It has happened to 99% of all the big clubs in Europe [not qualifying for the group stage] but we want to be in there and we think we have the potential to do it. The task is clear, and we know we can do it. So let’s do it.”