Have you ever been more desperate for the Premier League to get back underway? Well, if you watched England in the week then that’s obvious.
Things may have been pretty bleak on the international break but with five league wins on the bounce Arsenal are holding on to an infectious run of form.
The Gunners welcome Swansea City to the Emirates on Saturday afternoon as Bob Bradley kicks off his campaign as their new manager who is being thrown in at the deep end.
Before the Premier League took a break for the World Cup qualifiers, Arsenal were expecting a number of faces to return to action, but according to Wenger things haven’t gone to plan.
Team News
Aaron Ramsey
It’s a frustrating one for the Welshman and despite returning to full training in the week, Swansea and Ludogrets will both come too soon.
Wenger reitterated that Ramsey needs to build his fitness back up to the right level, and if he’s gonna challenge Xhaka for a place in the side then he’d better be at maximum capacity.
Olivier Giroud
Slightly behind Ramsey, the Frenchman has shaken off the injury and now has to get back into full training. The difference this season is that we have the ability to rest players a little longer now and not rush them into action.
Giroud is expected to be missing for another week, but the Middlesbrough tie could be a good chance for him to feature on the bench.
Mesut Ozil
There was a scare in mid-week after it was rumoured Ozil had picked up a knock during the game with Northern Ireland. However, he’s returned to the boss insisting he’s fully fit and ready to go on Saturday after playing just 45 minutes on Tuesday night.
Francis Coquelin
After enjoying a good start to the season despite the questions surrounding his place in the team over Xhaka, it was a knock that has sorted itself out now. Coquelin has returned ahead of schedule and will now rival Xhaka for a starting spot. Given that Xhaka played the full 90 minutes in mid-week it could be wise to throw Coquelin into the mix.
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