Koscielny knee injury makes him doubt for Tottenham clash

Laurent Koscielny has given Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger a massive injury concern ahead of the Sunday (30 April) North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur after suffering a knee injury during the dramatic 1-0 win over Leicester City on Wednesday (26 April).

The 31-year-old centre-back had to receive treatment in the late stages of the match due to a problem in his knee. The France international managed to continue playing until the end of the game as Wenger had already used his three substitutes.

The Arsenal boss confirmed his concern after the game, saying that the defender will need to be assessed ahead of the trip to Tottenham.

"Koscielny has a knee problem but I don't know how long he'll be out for," the Arsenal manager said in the press conference. "I have to check because I don't know yet."

The news is a special concern for Wenger to face Tottenham if he planned to stick with the 3-4-3 formation that has helped the Gunners to secure three consecutive victories over Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Leicester.

Yet Wenger left the Emirates Stadium delighted with the win as a Robert Huth own goal in the 86<sup>th minute gave Arsenal renewed hope of finishing in the Premier League top four.

"We took the initiative, we lacked a little bit of change of pace and penetration - you could see we had a few heavy legs. But you could see we were serious and didn't give chances away," Wenger said.

"Maybe we lacked a little bit of speed in our game to get them out of position - but they defend well and are very difficult to get out of position. In the end, I think the win rewards the team who took the initiative in the game. Overall, we are very happy with that because we knew the three points would be very difficult tonight.

"Let's not forget as well that we played on Sunday afternoon and Leicester did not play at all at the weekend. They had good preparation for the game and we knew we had a little handicap on that front."