Arsene Wenger has given his latest update on the health of his squad and thankfully revealed that his players appear to have come through the mid-week round of international matches unscathed.
Ahead of England’s match with Holland their had been suggestions that Robin van Persie was carrying a knock, although the boss made clear that he was in constant consultation with Dutch coach Bert van Marwijck.
“It was planned by his manager [for RVP to play only 45 minutes] because he knows we have a tough schedule. We are the only team in the world who plays Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday,” Wenger told the Arsenal website.
“So far it is OK, we have no injuries from Wednesday night. Everybody looks alright,” he continued. That being said there are still residing issues which will keep the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Johan Djourou and Francis Coquelin sidelined for a while longer.
On the Welshman, Arsene admitted, “It is too early for him, he has no chance for the weekend. He will be out for Milan as well.” While the Swiss, who missed his national side’s defeat to Argentina, looks set to be OK to face Milan if needed, his young French teammate Coquelin is set to miss another month with a hamstring problem.
In positive news there’s a chance Arsenal could be full-backtastic in the coming weeks. Having seen Bacary Sagna, Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs all recover from long-term problems, Andre Santos is the next in line for a comeback. Speaking about the Brazilian, who has been out since the ill-fated trip to Olympiakos three months ago, Wenger noted his admiration for the summer signing’s motivation.
“He is doing good, he is not far as well – two weeks away from returning to the group. It is a bit ahead of time and he works with a fantastic attitude. He is unbelievably focused, motivated every day and he is a credit to himself.
“It is a joy to see how hard he works and sets himself targets. In two weeks we will assess how well he is doing in training.”
UPDATE
Hmm…it seems everything is not quite as OK as Arsenal.com would have us believe. Speaking to the press this morning Arsene has discovered several possible problems:
“We have a problem with Vermaelen that we have to assess. Van Persie has a groin problem. I don’t know their chances of playing.” he said at London Colney.
“Rosicky has a groin problem… I think he will play.”
Oh and some fella called Abou Diaby (French midfielder apparently, bit like Vieira apparently) is available again.
Good to see them all coming back. What about Jack?
What do you get if you cross Emile Heskey with a megalomaniac?
huh?
Nicklas Bendtner
Abou Diaby…..Abou Diaby…….sounds familiar but I can’t quite place him.
I’m pretty sure he’s our 3rd choice goalie. Tall chap. Handlebar moustache.
that’s the one. part time stuntman as well, isn’t he? always falling out of tall buildings or going over waterfalls in a barrell, that sort of thing?
He reminds me of a young Lenny Henry.
RvP didn’t need to play 45mins. We need his skills!!
As was mentioned in the Blog yesterday, what did the Dutch coach learn about RVP on Wednesday that he didn’t already know? Fuck all.
Having said that, at least he took him off, unlike the utter toolbag of a Belgian coach who played Vermaelen all the way, even with a knock.
Cheers for that dickhead.
What an absolute cock the Belgium coach has turned out to be. Belgium aren’t even in the Euro cup, they don’t need to prepare for anything! Their game against Greece was totally unimportant, they were merely a sparring partner for their opponents so why play a player who is carrying a knock? What an idiot.
Good to hear about the progress in their recovery.
full backs are like buses. you wait ages for one then …
They rip you off while trying to claim public transport is the way forward?
You give up and decide to walk?
I wonder how qucikly time passes by still doesnt feel like a month has gone by since Djourou got injured seem like just yesterday he posted his news. And on the other we didnt had any players out injured in that period. Wow.
AW’s comments re RVP, TR and TV may be a case of wengerly cunning designed to throw that clod hopping idiot into a state of confusion. Not difficult
yeah agree. fully expect to see RvP start tomorrow.
slightly worried about what’ll happen when Reina bombs it long for Carroll to nod onto the nippy runner, Bellamy. It’s a sophisticated new method of attack I worry we’ll have trouble coping with, comes from a Japanese training manual (called Fash-anu, apparently)
i can see us running pretty midfield rings around them all game until the 89th minute when reina launches one… *gulp*
nah bollocks, we’ll do them. Let’s say 2-1.
Aaaaaa-Bou Di-A-by
Push pineapple shake a tree
To the left to the right
Abou’s not injured tonight!!
I saw TV5 & RVP in the training picture running well. It’s just to delude Liverpool just like sp*r thought Kos won’t be fit. Good to have Diaby back, I hope injury woes are behind, he has point to prove. Many slam him and Gibbs for injuries but when Arsene keeps constantly injured players, he knows better. RVP a testimony. Can’t wait for Santos and JW19
[…] on the injury situation ahead of tomorrow’s rather important game against Liverpool. Arseblog News reports that despite the positive outlook given by Arsenal’s official website the manager […]
Bloody good news on Santos, we’ve missed him
[…] news is interesting. Santos is still two weeks away, although he’s recieved praise from Arsene Wenger. The other team news is that Coquelin is four weeks away while Djourou may make Milan but Ramsey is […]
I know it’s somewhat unlikely, but I really hope Diaby’s mystery travels around the world will lead to him being healthy for an extended run. Every time he is healthy he is really impressive to me and I really think he could be a huge part for us in our race to catch Sp*rs.
The only problem I have with Diaby is his lack of “violent” in that violent conduct red card against the convicted thug Joey Barton last season. If you are going to do it, do it right, lad.