Arsene Wenger has received a massive boost with news that Mesut Ozil will be available this weekend after getting over the foot injury which kept him out of the game at Stoke.
Speaking at his pre-match news conference, as reported by the official Arsenal website, Wenger said he expects to have Alexis Sanchez back and in the squad to face Chelsea on Sunday whilst not losing anyone from the squad that drew with the Potters.
And in contrast to many updates on injuries and fitness this season, the good news kept on coming, with Francis Coquelin in full training ahead of schedule.
Compared to last week we have no big problems from the squad that was available to face Stoke.
The good news is that Ozil will certainly be available. For Alexis the next few days will be decisive but I think this time he will make it to be available for selection.
Alexis has been sidelined for eight weeks with a hamstring injury and was expected to make a return to the bench last weekend.
The Arsenal boss said then it would be a gamble, and having not taken it and instead given the Chilean another week of training, Wenger seemed very positive about calling upon his top goalscorer from last season.
The doubt is that he has been out for a long time and [there is] the risk of a setback if you try to go too early.
To be clear on all the tests is one thing, after he is clear on training is another thing, and after that the intensity of a big game which you can never repeat in a training session.
You can make sure after a certain amount of time that the risk is minimal. I am cautious with him because we cannot afford a setback.
A setback would mean a very long period out so we don’t want to take this gamble. The signs he has shown in training this week are positive.
Elsewhere, Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck are stepping up their fitness regimes which will also hand the Arsenal manager further reason to feel confident.
Coquelin is back in full training today and he is ahead of schedule. He has still a few steps to go through.
Welbeck will be in full training next week so that is positive news.
It is possible Rosicky will play in the under-21 game [on Friday]. He was a bit sick at the beginning of the week but we planned for him to play tomorrow night. We have a few players coming back because we go into a very important period now for us.
