Arsenal News: Bacary Sagna's Injury More Crippling Than North London Derby Loss

Call it what you will, but Arsenal's loss to Tottenham at White Hart Lane was far from the most crippling blow of the day.

While many might consider Spurs victory over the Gunners a final push above their rivals in Premier League reckoning (and it is), the loss of Bacary Sagna will linger for much longer.

The 28-year-old French defender is another player to add to Arsenal's laundry list of injuries in the back, also a damaging blow.

According to Mirror Football's report, Sagna is expected to miss at least three months:

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The doctor of the France team, Fabrice Bryand, was informed by Arsenal of a fracture to the right fibula of Bacary Sagna ... The player was hurt during the match lost 2-1 by his club against Tottenham on Sunday. The defender will be operated on and is not expected to be available for three months.

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Sagna had been one of the lone starters still making plays for the Gunners in the back line before the injury.

He now joins defenders Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou, Sebastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny on the injury report.

While it is still only early October, the Gunners have made a mess of their new campaign rather quickly. They enter the two-week international break with only two points separating them from the relegation drop zone.

The defeat, the fourth of its kind in the Premier League this year, has even caused boss Arsene Wenger to concede winning the league title is not realistic:

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At the moment, we have to set realistic targets and to get in touch with teams that fight to be in the Champions League positions. To say today 'we will win the league' is not realistic.

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And with injuries to players like Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny and Jack Wilshere, it is the most truthful he's been with himself in a while.

Unlike his stubbornness this summer in the transfer window, Wenger is right to acknowledge his club is in a bit of trouble.

Losing to Spurs certainly makes Arsenal fans sick to their stomachs, but seeing Sagna out of the lineup should give them nightmares.

When the Gunners return to the pitch in two weeks, in which Champions League and Carling Cup play is interspersed with Premier League play, Wenger has to have some adjustments for his back line.

If not, this club faces a long, difficult task of staying relevant in Premier League play.