As quoted by Arsenal’s official website, manager Arsene Wenger has gone on to state that he is likely to be without the services of key trio Hector Bellerin, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez during the clash against Manchester United.

Arsenal are preparing for a blockbuster encounter against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday and the Gunners will surely view the match as a must win in order to continue their strong title pursuit this season.

That being said, Arsenal are facing a few challenges in terms of injuries ahead of the clash and now manager Arsene Wenger has gone on to provide worrying news regarding the trio of Hector Bellerin, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the encounter, Wenger stated that Bellerin will be out for a month due to an ankle injury suffered during the clash against Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago while Cazorla has still not recovered from his Achilles injury and is not sure when the Spaniard will return.

Wenger said, “Hector is out for four weeks. He got injured in the last 10 seconds against Spurs after a very strong tackle by Danny Rose. Cazorla is still out. I don’t know exactly how long for. He’s still not even out in training yet.”

The Arsenal boss then went on to comment regarding the situation surrounding Sanchez and stated that while the Chilean star has returned from international duty unscathed, he is unsure of the attacker’s participation against United this weekend.

Sanchez to miss out against United?

The Frenchman continued, "I haven’t heard a lot [about his fitness] because we were in doubt 24 hours before the game against Uruguay.

“We didn’t know if he’d play or not. In the end they decided to play him. He texted us to tell us he’s in good shape after the game. He came off after 84 minutes and now we have to wait. I see him tomorrow [Friday] morning and then I will see if he can be involved in the squad or not.

"What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played while recovering from a hamstring injury. I’ll consider the way he feels as well. On that front you depend on the honesty of the player, how they feel and how they recover."

The absence of Bellerin and Cazorla was pretty much expected but if Sanchez is also unavailable for the clash at Old Trafford, it would represent a huge blow to Arsenal’s chances of claiming victory over United.