Arsenal are sweating over the fitness of Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny after both the players were forced off during their 3-3 draw against Bournemouth on Tuesday (3 January).

The Gunners were 3-0 down with 20 minutes to play but goals from Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Perez and Olivier Giroud saved a point for Arsene Wenger's team but it came at a cost as the French duo were forced off with injuries. Coquelin was replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after he limped off with a suspected hamstring injury, while Koscielny was replaced by Gabriel Paulista with 25 minutes still left on the clock but the nature of the injury to the defender was unclear, according to the Mirror.

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Coquelin, who has been a mainstay in the Arsenal midfield, was forced off after just 26 minutes and Wenger will be hoping that his injury is a minor one. The north London club are already facing a shortage of midfielders and his lengthy absence will leave the French coach with just Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka as his options in midfield. Santi Cazorla is out injured and Mohamed Elneny is on international duty with Egypt at the Afcon Cup.

Koscielny's injury did not look as serious as his compatriot's and Wenger admitted after the game that a number of players were carrying minor knocks at half-time owing to the close proximity of games during the festive period. The Arsenal skipper is likely to be given the week off as the Gunners prepare to take on Preston North End in the FA Cup this weekend (7 January).

Francis Coquelin
Francis Coquelin was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury just 26 minutes into Arsenal's game against Bournemouth Getty

Danny Welbeck and Per Mertesacker are Arsenal's other members on the injured list, but the duo have returned to first-team training and could make their return this month. They have been long-term absentees and are yet to play this season. Wenger will be hoping to have all of his players fit for the second-half of the season, as they look to resurrect their title challenge which has gone off the boil in recent weeks and they could end the week 11 points behind leaders Chelsea.

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