Ahead of Wednesday’s Capital One Cup clash with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news for the match.
A key worry for fans is the fitness and availability of defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin. The Frenchman is seen as a pivotal piece in the squad, so when he was forced off at half-time against Chelsea on Saturday, Gunners everywhere were understandably concerned.
Wenger confirmed Coquelin will be out for Wednesdays game.
Francis Coquelin will be out and we have no major problems for anybody else.
It should be a similar squad.
Further elaborating upon Coquelin’s absence, Wenger assessed the situation.
His knee is swollen and he is being assessed, but we hope it is just a short-term problem.
German defender and regular skipper Per Mertesacker hasn’t played a game since Arsenal’s away win at Crystal Palace, which was the second game of the season. The centre-back has been out through illness, and most recently a minor car crash.
However, Wenger confirmed Mertesacker has returned to first team selection.
He is available for selection, yes.
In the Capital One Cup, Arsenal have traditionally utilised the competition to get some of the younger players some valuable playtime and first team experience.
Asked if any youngsters could feature in tomorrow’s game Wenger said Alex Iwobi would be.
Alex Iwobi. I want to keep the squad together. We go game by game so I will make changes, for sure.
How many? I’ve not decided yet. It will be quite an experienced squad with one or two younger players.
On Iwobi, Wenger said admitted his pleasure at the progress of the youngster.
He is in and out a little bit because we travel a lot. He is doing well.
