Arsenal Team News: Wenger Rules Midfielder Out Of West Brom + Cazorla Update

Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways when West Bromwich Albion visit the Emirates on Thursday night for their rescheduled Premier League clash.

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

Unfortunately, Wenger has confirmed that Jack Wilshere is unlikely to feature against West Brom on Thursday as the boss feels the midfielder isn’t quiet ready to make his first appearance for the first team just yet.

Wilshere has missed the entire campaign after struggling to overcome a fractured fibula that he suffered in pre-season back in early August but the 24-year-old returned to full training earlier this month.

Having already played twice for the under-21’s this month, Jack continued to work on his match fitness after coming through another ninety minutes and even got himself on the score-sheet for the youth side on Monday afternoon.

There were hopes that Wilshere would be ready to return for Thursday’s clash with West Brom but Wenger has now suggested he’ll have to wait until the Sunderland game on Sunday before making his first team comeback.

The boss also gave the latest on Santi Cazorla’s situation by confirming that the Spanish international is now back in full training after finally overcoming a serious knee injury that he sustained back in November.

It’s a huge boost to have Cazorla’s back in full training but after spending so long on the sidelines, I think Arsene will give the midfielder a couple of weeks to build up his fitness before bringing him back in to the squad, so we’re unlikely to see him before May.

Otherwise we have no new injury concerns to worry about heading in to the West Brom game so the only other absentee is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with the midfielder continuing to work on his fitness after a knee injury.

Here is what Arsene told Arsenal.com:

on the latest team news…
Everybody is available from our last game against Crystal Palace. We have no big injuries. We will have a final test today. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the only one not practising now.

on Santi Cazorla…
He has joined normal training and he looks okay, of course still a bit short on the competitiveness front.

on whether he could play in U-21 play-off…
We will try to get him maybe more training, and then join us directly maybe.

on Wilshere…
He has absorbed well his first obstacle of getting games. That means he has finally got 90 minutes and he has had no setbacks and the positives are that in every game he was sharper. That means he has a good fitness basis. Overall, the progression should be normal. I don’t think he will be available for selection [against West Brom], but from then it is whether I select him or not.