Arsenal Handed Blow As Alexis Sanchez Ruled Out Of Tottenham Clash

Arsenal have been handed a major blow ahead of Saturday’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur with Alexis Sanchez ruled out through injury.

The Chilean international missed Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa after picking up a minor hamstring strain in training last week.

Arsene Wenger was initially hopeful the attacker would be fit to return for Saturday’s trip to White Hart Lane to face arch rivals Tottenham.

However, the Gunners boss has just given Arsenal.com a team news update ahead of the game and confirmed that Sanchez is still not fit enough to return to the squad.

The good news is that the 26-year-old isn’t far away and could be back in contention to face Leicester City at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

Wenger told the clubs website:

“The latest is that Alexis is not ready. He is not far away, the Leicester game is a possibility. He is of course very difficult to keep quiet! He is training but it’s light training.”

It will be a major blow for Arsenal as Sanchez has been in sensational form following his move from Barcelona last summer, with the attacker scoring 18 goals in 32 games so far.

With Sanchez now ruled out, Arsene Wenger may be tempted to stick with the same starting eleven that produced an excellent display to beat Villa 5-0 last Sunday, meaning that Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott could start after making successful returns from injury recently.

Arsenal head into the game sitting one place and two points clear of Tottenham in fifth place in the Premier League table so this game will play a big part in both sides hopes of finishing in the top four.