Arsenal Team News: Wenger Confirms Double Injury Boost Ahead Of Sunderland Clash

Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways against Sunderland tomorrow afternoon and Arsene Wenger has confirmed a double fitness boost ahead of the game.

The Gunners boss has been speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning and has told Arsenal.com that Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott could be available for selection.

Koscielny was forced off during the opening stages of our 1-1 draw at Norwich City last weekend after picking up a hip problem, prompting fears that we’d lost yet another key player to injury.

However, it looks as though the problem was just a minor one as the boss has confirmed Koscielny could be in contention to face Sunderland tomorrow afternoon at the Emirates.

The French international could be joined in the squad by Walcott with the attacker on the verge of making his long-awaited comeback from a calf complaint that he suffered against Sheffield Wednesday back in mid-October.

Theo has been training this week and Wenger revealed that he’ll make a late decision on his and Koscielny’s involvement against the Black Cats, but I expect both players to be in the squad this weekend.

Wenger told the clubs website:

on the team news…

The players injured in the last two weeks will not play tomorrow and who is back maybe in the squad could be Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott. That will be a decision tomorrow morning.

on players coming back…

It is positive as we are a bit short.

It comes as a welcome relief that Koscielny hasn’t picked up a serious injury but I hope we don’t rush him back tomorrow so I would only start him if he’s 100% fit, otherwise I’d go with Gabriel alongside Per Mertesacker at the back.

Walcott’s return is a huge boost as we’ve just lost Alexis Sanchez and Sanit Cazorla to injury and Olivier Giroud has looked knackered in recent games, so it will be important for the boss to have another option in attack.