Ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup clash with Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland at the weekend, the Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news for hs side.
The major plus side for Arsenal fans is that since their last game, the side has picked up no serious injuries and so the squad that faced Newcastle last weekend will be fully ready to play again this coming weekend.
The team news is that, from last week, we have no big injuries, and the squad will be similar to the squad who played the last game against Newcastle.
Will a young player or two start? I haven’t decided yet.
Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla suffered a long-term injury earlier in the season and Wenger admits that little has changed in terms of the Spaniards recovery, but remained optimistic that Cazorla may return to full fitness quicker than expected.
The Frenchman also noted that combatant midfielder Francis Coquelin was also making good progress with his recovery.
Nothing’s changed [from the original timescale] with Santi. It could be a bit shorter with him because he’s often quicker [to recover] than you expect him to be. Cazorla and Coquelin are doing well.
There was good news on the topic of veteran midfielders Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta. The Czech Republic international is not too far away from resuming full training and the Arsenal skipper is available for this weekend’s fixture.
Tomas Rosicky is not far, he’s back in full training next week, so should be available soon. Mikel is available.
When asked whether he would rest key players for upcoming Barclays Premier League fixtures, the Frenchman admitted that he will be fielding a strong side because, as the current title holders, he feels it is important that his side tries their hardest to retain their trophy and claims that the third round is always the trickiest.
The thinking is to give absolutely everything to qualify. We are the holders of the cup and I know as well by experience that it is very important that you get in the competition and that you have a successful third round. It’s a tricky one, always, the third round.
