Arsenal News: Arteta Wants More Defenders This Summer Following Mustafi Injury

Arsenal F.C. suffered a big blow recently when Shkodran Mustafi went down with a hamstring injury. It appears that the German defender will be out for quite some time. Following this, Mikel Arteta plans to add another midfielder this summer to address the growing void.

Already out for the Gunners are Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari. Between the two, Chambers is slowly working himself back to shape following a cruciate ligament injury he sustained not long after Christmas. He is now doing light work on the training pitch.

Mari, on the other hand, underwent surgery for his ankle. He suffered the injury against Manchester City in June and is not expected to play until October.

Mustafi incurred the injury against City in the FA Cup semi-final win last week. The injury seems to be more serious than expected, and there is no timetable on when he can return. However, it appears that the 28-year-old center-back will be out until the early part of the 2020-21 season.

"It looks really nasty," Arteta said in a report from the Goal.com. "He pulled the tendon off the bone in his hamstring and that's normally a lot of weeks."

With three players absent, Arteta has called on Arsenal management to help address the void. Last month, the name of Malang Sarr was mentioned as a possible target to beef up the defensive side of the Gunners.

There were claims that talks were made with the French player at the time, but unnamed sources rebuffed this speculation. It was previously reported that no formal offer has been made to the 21-year-old player. Sarr's contract with Nice recently ended.

Aside from Sarr, William Saliba is due to return to Emirates Stadium following a loan spell to Saint-Etienne. The 19-year-old is hoping that he has collected enough experience to make the Gunners' lineup. But with the recent injury woes plaguing the club, it appears he is more than certain to get a first-team role under Arteta.

Saliba admitted that this is a dream he has been long waiting for. Though he was a bit sore over not finishing his stint with Saint-Etienne in the Ligue 1 final, his focus right now is to continue playing and showing Arteta what he can contribute.

"I fell for Arsenal from the start," Saliba said. "A number of French players have been there."