Arsenal suffered a heavy blow on Thursday as striker Danny Welbeck has been ruled 'out for a period of months' after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
The 24-year-old sustained injury at the end of April and as a result had to miss both the FA Cup final and end-of-season internationals, the Guardian reported.
According to a statement on the club's website, it had been hoped that Welbeck would avoid surgery but the injury to his cartilage did not respond as well as hoped and the decision was taken last week for him to undergo surgery by a leading specialist in the field.
Arsenal had roped in goalkeeper Petr Cech as their only transfer-window signing earlier this summer from Chelsea.
Manager Arsene Wenger came under severe criticism after failing to bolster his attacking options in the transfer window despite Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and the Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani from Paris St Germain were heavily being linked with a move to Arsenal.