Arsene Wenger has revealed that there are no fresh injury troubles after Wednesday’s battling 2-1 win over Marseille, with Mikel Arteta set to return to training today in a bid to make the squad to face Stoke on Sunday.
The Gunners host the Potters at Emirates this weekend and it seems there is a bright light approaching at the end of the injury-laden tunnel with vice-captain Arteta closing in on his return to action.
The Spaniard suffered a torn quadricep during pre-season but is now joining in on full training after working up his fitness away from the first team squad. Although he could feature this weekend, it is highly likely it will be from the bench as predicted in our lineup for the Stoke fixture.
The likes of Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby and Oxlade-Chamberlain remain on the treatment table, but luckily for the Gunners no fresh faces will be enjoying the medics company with Wenger revealing there are no new injuries from the trip to France on Wednesday night.
The Frenchman said in his pre-match press conference:
There are no new injuries
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Arteta returns to full training today and could be back in the squad. He is one of our leaders and we are happy to have him back.
Mikel has been missed this season, he is not just an excellent footballer but someone who is a strong leader and exert’s composure. Luckily the re-signing and emergence of Flamini as a first team regular has helped to damped the blow of losing our vice-captain. There is no rush to bring him back into action, as long as he is fit to play next week against West Brom in the Capital One Cup, so a few minutes under his belt this weekend will help…providing the Gunners are in a position to do so.
He will not walk back into the side, with the Arsenal’s midfield incredibly strong at the moment and linking well together, but will soon enough prove his worth.
What are your thoughts Gooners? Are you happy to hear the return of the Spainard is on the horizon? Do you think he should be starting ahead of Flamini once he is fully match fit? Comment below..
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