Arsenal Boss Confirms Midfielder Will Miss Liverpool But Attacking Duo Return

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed Mohamed Elneny won’t feature against Liverpool this weekend but Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck are back in contention.

Elneny suffered an ankle injury during Arsenal’s FA Cup victory at Sutton United last month and was spotted wearing a protective boot over the weekend.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference today, Wenger has now confirmed that the midfielder won’t travel to Merseyside this weekend and is expected to be out for around three weeks.

It means the Egyptian international will miss all of Arsenal’s fixture’s in March including further games against Bayern Munich, Lincoln and West Bromwich Albion before the up-coming international break.

However, there is better news for the Gunners further up the field as Wenger confirmed that striker Giroud will return to the squad after missing the Sutton game with a minor knock.

The Arsenal manager also revealed that Welbeck is back in contention after not being risked against Sutton and instead played a couple of games for the Under-23’s over the past two weeks.

Welbeck has only recently returned from seven months out with a serious knee injury and Wenger says he’s been cautious with the striker on the advice of his medical team.

The Arsenal boss told Arsenal.com:

on Mohamed Elneny…
Elneny has an ankle problem that should be sorted out in three weeks. He got injured at Sutton and will not be available for Saturday’s game.

on Olivier Giroud…
Olivier Giroud is back in the squad as well.

on whether Danny Welbeck is ready to start…
He’s in contention. Yes [we’ve been careful] because he had ups and downs with his response to his knee problem. I followed the advice of our medical staff.

Obviously it will be a blow for Arsenal to be without Elneny but the good news for the north Londoners is that Aaron Ramsey has returned to full training and is in contention to face Liverpool this weekend.

The Gunners head to Anfield sitting one point ahead of the hosts in fourth position in the Premier League table so both sides will be desperate to pick up a positive result to boost their top four hopes.