The Gunners boss has revealed the team news ahead of Monday night’s game at the Emirates, and according to Arsene Wenger, there are no new injuries to report on from the 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace last Sunday. The only injuries in the current squad are Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, and Danny Welbeck. Wenger indicated to Arsenal Player that he would stick with a similar squad from the Palace match for the one against Liverpool at the emirates.
“From the Palace game we have no injuries and we have still Wilshere, Welbeck and Rosicky to come back. And we have no suspensions.
“So we should have a similar squad for the Liverpool game.”
The match against a talented Liverpool side should be tougher than their victory over Palace, but the points are important and a win against such a tough side will give the team momentum and confidence to start the season with. Liverpool will be without the dangerous Daniel Sturridge, whose pace and finishing would make this match even harder from the Gunners’ point of view, but luckily the only major goal threat the centre back duo of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have to focus on is Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ new signing, Christian Benteke.
Wenger will miss Wilshere and Rosicky, as they always bring a great level of energy to the match, especially coming off the bench to provide a spark for the team late in any game. Wenger also provided an update on the two: “Rosicky is progressing nicely but he is far away.
“Wilshere should be the first back from those players, he is making good progress.”
Danny Welbeck will be itching to come back soon in order to remind Wenger of the quality he showed last season, especially in the UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray, where he scored a hat-trick. The England international showed his talent in another big game, scoring the winner at Old Trafford against his former club, Manchester United. It was a big moment, as he pushed Arsenal past the toughest team they would face on the road to their second consecutive FA Cup, and it showed that the England international forward would show up and do big things in big moments. He seems a bit of a forgotten man now that Theo Walcott is fully back from his ACL tear from early in 2014 and that he is now in contention for playing time at centre-forward.
Arsenal’s injury woes are very limited for the first time in a long time, whereas a few years ago the north London club seemed to lose a player for months after each game. Hopefully history does not repeat itself and the squad stays healthy during the season. There is no ceiling for the potential of the Gunner’s stars if they stay healthy and play to the peak of their abilities.
