Our bench looked incredibly strong against Manchester City last Sunday, with the likes of Mesut Özil and Theo Walcott waiting in the wings. This makes a nice change from the usual handful of youngsters at our disposal, and Arsene Wenger has spoken out about how pleased he is to have such a wealth of options for once, as reported by ESPN.
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With a number of players returning from injury at the same time, Wenger will soon have a real selection headache on his hands.
“It is true there is competition for places at the moment, that is a luxury that only a club like of our stature can afford,” he said.
“It can make the players better, because the competition inside the club is always very important to keep the players on their toes.”
“These [Walcott and Ozil] are players who are in a bit of a special position, it is not their quality which is questioned, it is just the fact they have just come back from long-term injuries.
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“The best XI I have in my head can change every week. We are in a world where competition is vital and competition is just down to performance in the last game.”
With Walcott and Özil both returning from lengthy spells on the sidelines, they are likely to take a little time to shake off the ring rust. Our pacey Englishman in particular has spent almost an entire year watching on from the stands, and is understandably still finding his feet on the pitch once again.
We are likely to see some measure of rotation this weekend against Brighton, but with the depth available to us at the moment Wenger should still field a strong team.
With Jack Wilshere also set to return from injury soon, there will be a huge number of players vying for the midfield spots. Players like Santi Cazorla have made the most of the time they have had unchallenged this season, attempting to show the manager that they are indispensable and deserve a starting berth at the Emirates.
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