Arsene Wenger Admits Fitness Concern Over Key Man

Arsene Wenger has admitted he’s waiting nervously to see what condition Alexis Sanchez is in after he played twice for Chile during the international break despite carrying a hip injury.

Sanchez was forced off during the latter stages of our 3-0 victory over Manchester United at the start of the month after picking up a hip problem in the second half.

However, he was still given permission to join-up with the Chile national squad and played in both their World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Peru over the last week.

Sanchez showed no sign of the hip injury as he netted three goals and provided one assist throughout his 180 minutes, but Arsene is still anxious over what his condition will be when he finally arrives back in North London this afternoon.

The boss is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“I cannot do a lot about it. He came off as you have seen against Manchester United with a hip problem, a problem with the rotator muscle and he wanted to go.

“He played in the last two games and we have to see how he comes back but it is always a tricky situation Chile are trying to qualify for the World Cup and he is an important player for them but they will use him if they can.

“He is a guy that always wants to play so I knew that was always going to be a tricky situation.

“Let’s see what happens and how he comes back. He comes back at 2pm today and I don’t think there is a lot you can do because he played. We have to see if we have to protect him in our next game or not.

“He has a bit of a difficult start to the season because he came back late and you could see that but now he is back to his level and even better than before. His overall game and finishing, contributing and assists is excellent.

“He works hard for the team and he finishes. His enthusiasm is contagious. He always gives you hope that he is going to do something and he gets defenders always on the back foot, provokes and that is top class.”

Fingers crossed Sanchez is given the all-clear when he’s assessed by the Arsenal medical team as he’s in excellent form and we need to build some momentum in the Premier League with another victory at Watford this weekend.

However, I personally wouldn’t risk Sanchez if there is any doubt over his fitness. The two games for Chile will have taken a lot out of him, especially as he wasn’t 100% fit, so it might be wise to leave him on the bench and only bring him on if needed.

That way, he should be fresh for our huge Champions League clash with Bayern Munich at the Emirates on Tuesday night.