Arsenal
Arsenal Team News: Wenger Offers Update Ahead Of Palace + Positive Wilshere News
Arsene Wenger has given a team news update ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Crystal Palace including the latest on the fitness of Jack Wilshere.
Arsenal will look to close the gap on the top two when we take on Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Ahead of the game, Arsene Wenger has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this morning and he’s provided a team news and injury update.
The boss was pleased to confirm that he have a clean bill of health following last Saturday’s 3-3 draw with West Ham meaning we have no fresh injuries to deal with and Wenger will choose from the same squad that travelled to Upton Park.
Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky stepped-up their injury comebacks by playing for the under-21’s yesterday afternoon and the boss says the pair came through the game without a report of any setbacks.
When pressed for more on when Wilshere will be available for the first team, Wenger confirmed the 24-year-old will play for the under-21’s again on Monday night and he’ll then assess the midfielder’s fitness to see if he’s ready to return to the first team set-up.
Wenger is quoted as saying by London24:
“Everybody should be available from the West Ham game. I have no news today but after the under-21 game we had no report that anyone had any problem.”
“I do not know [if Wilshere will be ready for next week]. I think he needs one more game at least. He will play for the under-21s on Monday night and I will have to see how he is compared to his competitors.”
“Once he is through three or four games of course we will consider him.”
Wilshere has not made a first team appearance all season after fracturing his fibula in pre-season training so it’s understandable that the club are being cautious over his return after such a long time on the sidelines.
However, hopefully he can come through the under-21’s game on Monday unscathed and then he could put himself in contention for our Premier League clash with West Brom at the Emirates next Thursday night.
It would be a huge boost to have Jack back as I think we’ve sorely missed him this season, particularly while Santi Cazorla has also been on the sidelines in recent months.
