Lukas Podolski to miss North London Derby vs. Tottenham

Arsenal will be without Lukas Podolski when they take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the North London Derby. The forward injured his hamstring in the Gunners' Champions League playoff win on Wednesday and was stretchered off the field. It looked unlikely, based on that visual alone, that he would be able to play against Spurs and after the match Arsene Wenger confirmed that the German would be unavailable.

Wenger: "Podolski is definitely out for 21 days [with a hamstring injury]" #AFCvFEN

— Arsenal.com (@Arsenal) August 27, 2013

With Podolski joining Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mikel Arteta on the training table, Arsenal aren't rather hurting for Sunday's visit from Tottenham. Wenger opted to insert Kieran Gibbs for Podolski on Wednesday, but that was with the Gunners already 4-0 up in their tie. Against Spurs, they will probably opt for Tomas Rosicky.

Of course, that assumes the recently-injured Jack Wilshere reacts well to playing on Wednesday and Aaron Ramsey is fine after picking up a knock, neither of which is clear. The injury situation could still get worse for the Gunners.

Sunday's match already presented Spurs with an opportunity to take their transfer window dominance of their North London rivals onto the field and become the clear favorite for fourth place. Now it looks like they won't just have the chance to do it, but they are likely to do it, even at the Emirates.

Might this injury finally force Wenger to buy? Might a loss finally force Wenger to buy? Does it even matter if Arsenal buy a player or two? It won't on Sunday.