Striker Lucas Perez faces six to eight weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury, but midfielder Aaron Ramsey is in contention to make his long-awaited return against Sunderland, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.
Spaniard Perez, who has scored twice for Arsenal since joining from Deportivo La Coruna in the summer transfer window, limped off in the second half of Tuesday's 2-0 League Cup victory after a tackle by Reading's Danzell Gravenberch.
Wales international Ramsey, whose only Premier League appearance this season came in the 4-3 defeat by Liverpool during which he suffered a hamstring injury, has been included in the squad for Saturday's trip to the Stadium of Light.
Wenger felt that the tackle on Perez was deliberate, and could have been avoided.
"We lost Perez for a while with an ankle injury. Hopefully he will recover but I think it will be six-eight weeks out," Wenger told reporters.
"We have (Olivier) Giroud back, Aaron Ramsey will be in the squad.
"Very frustrating - he (Perez) worked very hard to get there. He's absolutely gutted, it's an injury that came from nowhere. A stupid one - a deliberate kick.
"We have a few uncertainties about (Theo) Walcott, (Nacho) Monreal, (Santi) Cazorla. All tests today."
Along with rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal are unbeaten on their road travels in the league, but Wenger urged caution against bottom-placed Sunderland, whom he believes are better than current form suggests.
"Their main danger is (Jermain) Defoe, and they are good on set-pieces with (Wahbi) Khazri. They are dangerous on set-pieces," he added.
"Overall they are a team who is in a bad position but it's very tight at the top and very tight at the bottom."
Arsenal are second in the standings, behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference.La Coruna will reluctantly allow Lucas Perez to leave the club and join Arsenal, who are willing to meet the player's release clause of 20 million euros.
Los Branquiazuis would rather not sell their star striker, but have known for some time that it was a possibility, and are prepared to rubber-stamp the deal with enough time left in the transfer market to sign a replacement.
The ball is now in Perez's court, as player and club begin to negotiate personal terms following an agreement between Arsenal and Deportivo.
The Gunners were not the first club to make an offer for the Spaniard, withEverton and several Spanish clubs rumoured to be interested in acquiring his goalscoring services.
Perez is a hometown hero, having been born in A Coruna, but played for several clubs in different leagues, including Rayo Vallecano, Dynamo Kiev and PAOK, before moving to the Riazor permanently in 2015 at the age of 25.
The striker has a one in two record for Depor, scoring 24 goals in 58 league appearances, and reached the Greek Football Cup final in 2014 with former side PAOK.
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