Arsenal have suffered a significant blow ahead of their crunch Premier League clash with Manchester United after Santi Cazorla ruled himself out with an achilles problem.
The Gunners playmaker will miss the showdown with Jose Mourinho's men at Old Trafford on Saturday after he suffered a recurrence of the niggling achilles injury that marred the end of his 2015/16 campaign.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, with his quotes transcribed by "?Sky Sports, Cazorla divulged that he wasn't sure of how long the issue would keep him out of action, but that he hoped he would return to first-team action very soon.
He said: "I still don't know the exact time. I am trying to return as soon as possible to be with the team again, but I cannot say if it will be soon, or if I still have a few weeks left.
"I do not know, but hopefully it will be as soon as possible."
Cazorla has been out of action since Arsenal's 6-0 demolition of FC Ludogorets in the Champions League on October 19, and Wenger had kept his fingers crossed that the diminutive midfielder might have been recovered in time to feature against United.
That wish, though, has clearly not come true and the Frenchman must now set about reverting to his plan B, with other midfield options such as Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin set to battle it out for the two centre midfield positions in Wenger's starting line up.
Cazorla had been in fine form for Arsenal before his current spell on the sidelines, and had helped the North London side record a run of 10 matches without defeat - a sequence which has since been extended to 16 games during his absence.
The 31-year-old has been joined by compatriot Hector Bellerin on the treatment table after the speedy right-back was ruled out for four weeks with an undisclosed injury, but Alexis Sanchez is expected to be fit to face United after he came through Chile's recent international matches without further complications over a slight leg problem.
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