Arsenal were handed a huge fitness boost ahead of Saturday’s tie against Manchester United as Mikel Arteta and Olivier Giroud were both passed fit. That’s not all though, Wenger had positive news on two more injured Arsenal players..
Arsene Wenger updated fans with the latest team news on Thursday morning, and for once, after an international break, it was a good one. No more injuries and players are returning.
“Giroud and Arteta are both available. It’s just a question of how ready they are. But they are available. (Giroud) is three or four weeks ahead of schedule. Originally we planned to have him back for competition at the beginning of next year. So he’s one month ahead.”
Judging from Wenger’s words, Arteta and Giroud will be on the bench on Saturday. I would love to see at least one of them start to be honest. Mathieu Flamini looks out of place in Arsenal’s team and Arteta would be a welcome addition to the line-up.
Wenger had nothing to say on Theo Walcott but I do hope he starts the game. Whilst he might not be match fit, he’s had plenty of first team training and can’t do a lot less than Santi Cazorla has been recently.
The Gunners have also been boosted by the news that Mathieu Debuchy is set to return within 4 weeks. The manager also gave an update on Laurent Koscielny, adding that he hoped to have him fit for the festive period and things were looking ‘good’ for that to be the case. Hmmm.
The return of Giroud and Debuchy will be huge, in my opinion. Debuchy adds defensive solidarity at right back and bags of experience. This also enables Calum Chambers to be used exclusively as a centre back. Giroud returning means the weight is off Welbeck’s shoulders to carry our attack. Hopefully the two can combine to form a deadly duo.
Read more: Why Danny Welbeck should partner this guy in attack for Arsenal