Wilshere and Vermaelen Injuries Temper Arsenal's Week-Long Ebullient Mood

One year removed from the September international break that saw Thomas Vermaelen's 2010-11 season effectively ended when the Belgian went down to a nasty Achilles problem, injury woe has once again riddled Ashburton Grove.

Jack Wilshere, the 19-year-old prodigy and current mainstay in the Arsenal midfield, has been ruled out for at least two months after his ankle problem was deemed much more serious than initially thought.

His knock also came while on international duty, though this was back in June, when Wilshere was preparing for the U-21 European Championships with England, from which he would eventually withdraw.

In a cruel twist of fate, Vermaelen will once again join Wilshere in the injury clinic.

The Belgian international defender, who missed Arsenal's most recent Premier League fixture against Manchester United, has picked up a knock in his other ankle (in reference to last season's Achilles problem), and will likely be sidelined for two months.

This fresh spate of injuries flies in the face of a past week-and-a-half that had seen Arsenal supposedly free itself from its early-season mire.

Five new signings and the rampant form of Robin van Persie and Park Chu-Young (one of the five new additions) on international duty had restored a wonderful notion of promise to proceedings.

The Dutchman fired four goals in an 11-0 rout over hapless San Marino in a European qualifier, and the South Korean captain notched three of his own in a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon.

The South Korean looks to be in fine form as he prepares for his Arsenal debut. This spate of goal-scoring jones couldn't have come at a better time, as the Gunners are in desperate need of an additional proven striker.

On the defensive end, the £10 million acquisition of German defender Per Mertesacker takes on even greater importance in the wake of Vermaelen's injury. Mertesacker had been brought in to the side with the idea that he would pair with the Belgian in central defense. Now, that scenario has been tabled for at least two months.

With Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny looking anything but reassuring during the 8-2 loss at Old Trafford, and Sebastien Squillaci determined to rival Mickael Silvestre for the award of most ineffective Arsenal defender—ever—the central pairing will be a hot topic when the games are back on.

With Champions League group stage play set to begin one week from Tuesday, Arsene Wenger could have wished for a better time to see two integral components to his side go down.

Yet he has no choice in the matter. Arsenal play only three league fixtures during September, thanks in small part to the present week-and-a-half long international break.

Though Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers, and Bolton Wanderers might just be the best line-up Wenger could have hoped for, as each side has struggled (the latter two especially) to start the Premier League season, a good start in the Champions League will be made much more difficult with Wilshere and Vermaelen absent from the proceedings.

Newcomers Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta may be immediately thrown into the center of midfield, where their experience—especially Benayoun's in CL play—could be crucial.

Thankfully, Gervinho and Alex Song will return from their three-match league bans after the Swansea match, though Emmanuel Frimpong must wait one more until he is allowed back onto the pitch.

After such a dour start to the season, September could be a month that sees Arsenal rebound.

If that does happen, those new signings look likely to be major contributors to the reawakening.