Arsene Wenger has confirmed Shokdran Mustafi will miss Sunday’s game at St. Mary’s as Arsenal take on Southampton.
Arsenal are heavy favourites going into the match, given their recent results, despite the 3-1 loss to Manchester United. However, the Gunners will be missing one important piece of their jigsaw puzzle, with Shkodran Mustafi set to remain on the sidelines for the Sunday fixture.
Arsene Wenger confirmed the same in the pre-match conference, placing doubt on the German’s ability to make it in time even for the following fixture against West Ham.
“The only one out at the moment is Mustafi. He is certainly not available for Sunday. There’s a little chance of him coming back for West Ham, but he will not be available for Sunday.”
Per Mertesacker is the most likely candidate to replace his compatriot at the back, with the player being rested during the UEFA Europa League match against BATE Borisov on Thursday.
Shkodran Mustafi will miss Arsenal’s match against Southampton tomorrow after failing to recover from a thigh injury! pic.twitter.com/K5eiXeYp4m
— ArsenalFanTV (@ArsenalFanTV) December 9, 2017
Theo Walcott gave a good account of himself in the midweek game but was brought off by the manager citing a calf problem. Arsene confirmed that the move was just a precaution and that the player has looked good after the game, which hints at Walcott being in contention for a place in the matchday squad.
“He [Walcott] was alright [after the game]. He had a little tight calf and that’s why I took him off. He looked alright after the game.”
Jack Wilshere also dazzled on Thursday and a string of good performances from the little magician has called for his inclusion in the Premier League as well – something that Wenger has avoided up until now but is unlikely to be able to for much longer.
The Englishman should ideally be in the 18, but Wenger is unlikely not change the pivot of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey for now, with the duo looking to have created a good bond between themselves.
Southampton will likely see Shane Long return to the matchday squad, but the striker is only expected be good enough to make the bench on Sunday.
