Arsene Wenger fears Olivier Giroud will miss three weeks and the entirety of Arsenal's festive fixtures after injuring his hamstring in the Carabao Cup quarter-final win against West Ham .
Giroud hobbled off with a hamstring injury which will immediately rule him out of the big clash with Liverpool this weekend and the foreseeable future.
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck hit the 42nd minute winner in an instantly forgettable cup tie but the two-legged semi final does leave Wenger facing a gruelling schedule of ten games in 36 games.
“Hamstring, normally 21 days," Wenger remarked when questioned on the severity of Giroud's injury.
"It looks like he (Giroud) is out for Christmas. We will normally do a scan 48 hours after – Thursday - then we will have an idea of the grade.
"When you hear him the pain is quite big but the grade is not always linked with the pain."
Giroud's absence could mean an extended run in the side for Alexandre Lacazette without being substituted with 20 minutes remaining.
Wenger has taken Lacazette off in the 73rd, 72nd, 46th, 79th, 73rd and 76th minute just in the last month.
But in Giroud's absence, Lacazette could pad his stats after hitting eight goals in 18 appearances so far.
After Liverpool, the Gunners face visits to Palace three days after Christmas and West Brom, finishing up with Chelsea at home to kick off the new year.