Arsenal Boss Offers Injury Update On Walcott & Gibbs

Arsene Wenger has offered an injury update on Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs following Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates this afternoon.

Walcott was fully expected to start on the right-wing against the Baggies today but fans were left concerned after the England international was surprisingly left out of the squad.

Wenger has now confirmed to Arsenal.com that Walcott is suffering from a calf problem but thankfully the boss describes the injury as a ‘very small one’ so it sounds like Theo should be back in action soon.

Gibbs was handed a rare Premier League start at left-back this afternoon and was having solid game but the 27-year-old was forced off with 20 minutes to go following a clash of knees.

Wenger has confirmed Gibbs received a kick to his knee but the boss says the injury will need to be investigated further before they’ll know the full extent of the problem.

The boss told the clubs website:

on Gibbs…
It’s a kick. I don’t know how bad it is, but it’s a kick on the knee.

on Theo…
Theo has a small calf problem, but a very small one.

It’s a huge relief that Walcott’s injury isn’t serious as the last thing we need is to lose him for any significant period of time, particularly with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sidelined with a hamstring problem.

Let’s hope Walcott is available to face Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day as we could certainly have done with him against West Brom today and I think Sam Allardyce will set Palace up to be equally difficult to break down.

I also hope Gibbs’ injury doesn’t turn out to be anything too serious as I’d like to see him given a run at left-back with Nacho Monreal’s form a bit of a concern this season.