Arsenal FC make a trip to the midlands to face West Brom, as they look to chase down Manchester City
Arsenal FC are level on points with early-season league leaders Manchester City, and will look to maintain the pressure on the Citizens with a win over West Brom on Saturday.
Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger touched on a range of topics in his pre-match conference, but also expressed his concerns over Alexis Sancheza s eagerness to play every match. Sanchez played two matches for Chile during the international break, which included a lot of travelling, and reported back only on Thursday night.
Wenger was quoted saying in the press conference by The Guardian: a I am worried because before he went away with Chile he was a bit jaded. But if I ask him a are you tired?a you can guess the answer.”
Wenger, who is willing to hand Sanchez few weeks rest, has his hands tied with the lengthy list of players out due to injuries, as he admitted that he will allow the former FC Barcelona man to take a break at some point in the future.
a At some point I will give him a break. At the moment I am a bit short because therea s no Chamberlain, no Ramsey, no Walcott, no Wilshere, no Welbeck. There are not many offensive positions where I can rotate.a
On the injury list
Wenger did provide an update about the condition of his players, as he expects Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to return for next weekenda s match against Norwich, while Aaron Ramsey will have to prove his fitness ahead of the Champions League fixture on Tuesday against Dinamo Zagreb.
a He had a slight little setback on Monday but we checked by scan and there is nothing wrong but he is still a fraction short for Saturday,” Wenger said.
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a Ramsey will be back in full training on Monday and can play on Tuesday and Chamberlain I think against Norwich. Theo is ahead of schedule at the moment but he is still two weeks away.a
The injury list may seem huge but considering the depth the squad has, they should be able to overcome this difficult phase, unlike previous season when the Gunners bowed out of their title challenge due to a lack of squad depth. While there isna t a huge injury crisis, Wenger will determine the mental condition of French duo Koscielny and Giroud, who will only play against West Brom is they are deemed ready to take to the pitch from a psychological point of view.