Injured Giroud out of Tottenham tie

Bengaluru, November 16: Arsenal suffered a big blow ahead of their crunch Premier League derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (November 18) with striker Olivier Giroud being ruled out due to a thigh injury.

Giroud, who has scored once in 10 league appearances this season, netted in France's friendly win over Wales last Friday.

"Giroud picked up an injury, I don't think he'll be available. It's short term, we've to assess him on Monday," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

BREAKING: Arsene Wenger says Olivier Giroud is unlikely to be fit to face Tottenham after suffering a thigh injury while on international duty with France. #SSN pic.twitter.com/gvJzzu2dfy

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 16, 2017

Arsenal are currently languishing sixth in the Premier League standings and have not beaten third-placed Tottenham in the last six league meetings.

The Gunners are 12 points behind league leaders Manchester City and there are some fitness concerns over striker Danny Welbeck (groin) and defender Shkodran Mustafi (thigh), with both of them expected to undergo late fitness tests.

There seems to no end in sight for Arsenal's injury woes as Santi Cazorla has been sidelined since last October after suffering multiple infections following surgery on his right heel.

Despite the setbacks, Wenger remained confident of putting up a good show against the Spurs at home.

"I think Tottenham is a good side but we've the quality to win this game and that's what we want to show," Wenger said.

"It's one of the fixtures of course that's very important for us and that you want to win. Basically as well, in the table, we've to make some ground up with the top teams," he added.