Arsenal Team News: Wenger Confirms Double Blow But Star Cleared To Return

Arsenal get back to Premier League action after the international break with a trip to the Hawthorne’s on Saturday to take on West Bromwich Albion.

Ahead of the game, Arsene Wenger has been speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning and he’s given reporters a team news and injury update.

Let’s start with the good news and Hector Bellerin is back in contention after recovering from a groin injury that he picked up against Swansea City late last month.

The Spaniard was forced to miss our games against Bayern Munich and Tottenham but is now set to return to the squad this weekend after making a swift recovery.

While the return of Bellerin is a real boost, there was less positive news with regards to our other injured players as Wenger also revealed that Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain unavailable for the trip to the Hawthorne’s.

Ramsey has missed our last five games after suffering a hamstring injury against Bayern Munich last month while Oxlade-Chamberlain has sat out our last three matches after picking up his own hamstring problem against Sheffield Wednesday.

Both players returned to light training earlier this week and there were hopes they would be back in contention this weekend. However, the boss has confirmed that neither player will be available for selection against the Baggies on Saturday.

“Hector Bellerin is back, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey are not available.” Wenger is quoted as saying by the Express.

So it’s mixed news on the injury front. Bellerin’s return is a major boost and I’d expect Mathieu Debuchy to drop back to the bench this weekend after the Frenchman deputised during the last two games.

However, we continue to have problems in midfield and attack with Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain remaining on the sidelines along with Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky.