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Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will pursue an emergency loan signing as both Wojciech Szczesny and Vito Mannone have been ruled out for six weeks, leaving Manuel Almunia as the club’s only senior goalkeeper.

Szczesny had established himself as Arsenal’s No. 1 with a number of composed performances but the Poland international sustained a finger injury in the 3-1 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday.

Wenger confirmed on Friday that the talented 20-year-old will miss the next six weeks, meaning he is likely to be sidelined for up to six Premier League games, as well as the FA Cup semi-final should Arsenal defeat Manchester United in the competition on Saturday.

Italian Mannone, currently on loan at Hull City, has also been struck down by a thigh problem and with Lukasz Fabianski already sidelined for the remainder of the season, Arsenal are hoping to bring in reinforcements.

“We need now an experienced goalkeeper as cover for Almunia because Mannone is out for six weeks so we cannot call on him,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

“Mannone is here at the training ground having treatment but he cannot play for the next six weeks. We can call him back [from Hull City] but he is not available.

“We have Wojciech out, in my opinion for six weeks. We have Fabianski out for the rest of the season. We need absolutely some cover in goal.”

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Liverpool have confirmed that captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for up to four weeks after undergoing surgery to correct a groin injury.

Gerrard missed the club’s Europa League defeat to Braga on Thursday and did not even travel to Portugal with his Liverpool team-mates.

He has now been operated on and the club expect him to be absent for around one month.

A club statement on Friday read: “LFC can today confirm that Steven Gerrard has undergone successful surgery on his groin and will be out for up to four weeks. The decision was made following consultation with a specialist.”

The news means Gerrard will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on March 26.

Meanwhile, midfielder Lucas says Liverpool must be patient with record signing Andy Carroll, who made his second appearance for his new club in the loss to Braga.

“Andy won every single ball in the air and that gave us a chance to step up,” Lucas said. “He provides another option because as well as being able to play on the ground we have a target man who can hold the ball and score goals.

“We are happy with what he did against Braga but he has been out for a few months and it would be unfair to put any pressure on him.”

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