Arsene Wenger says he’s still not sure if Kieran Gibbs will be fit to face Burnley on Saturday meaning he could return Nacho Monreal to left-back and utilise Calum Chambers alongside Per Mertesacker in the centre of defence.
The England international injured a hip at the Stadium of Light last weekend and is still struggling despite the Gunners having had a week off between games.
“There are a few uncertainties, like Kieran Gibbs,” the boss told Arsenal Player ahead of the visit of Sean Dyche’s side.
“We’ll know more tomorrow [Friday]. Apart from that everyone should be available. Wilshere is back from suspension. We have no other injuries and no one else coming back into the squad.”
Theo Walcott, having been on the bench last weekend, will be hoping for his first minutes since January while Yaya Sanogo could be back in the squad having not played since the 1-1 draw away at Leicester.
Serge Gnabry isn’t yet ready, Abou Diaby appears to be back in the ‘two-weeks’ away vortex again and Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud, David Ospina, Mesut Ozil and Laurent Koscielny are also still sidelined.
Poor old Abou. His injury timeline for his entire career has just been a rolling two-week period that never ends.
Come back Abou, I really miss you too! F*ck that 2 week vortex, out, out vile (vortex shaped) spot.
Expecting Abu Diaby to be fit is like buying a lottery ticking and expecting to win the jackpot. This situation has become a complete farce now.
I think you misread ‘hope’ for ‘expect’
That “‘two-weeks’ away vortex” is a bitch..
Come back very soon Kieran, we’ll miss you. And I’m hoping it was just a knock and nothing more complicated.
Knowing our luck it wouldn’t be surprising i mean Mesut got injured passing the ball ffs but i desperately hope not hes been in form too.
Every year I have these recurring dreams of what could’ve been with a healthy squad or *cough* squad depth. I understand its the nature of the game but EVERY TIME?! You would think we would reinforce even heavily to compensate for this unfortunate event (which is partially why Shad is there) that happens every year with…more than 5 senior defenders (6 with CC) but then again, what do I know…….it was just a dream.
if only Abou had the dagger of time….. he would have been the prince of midfield. Post cunting the likes of Shawcross and Chadli… Shadow kick M.Owen from a horse to donkey!
i don’t understand the logic. given our injury crisis surely if it is less than 24 hours before match time and you’re still waiting to make a call on his fitness – he simply isn’t fit enough to play. what is going to happen in the last 15 or so hours that hasn’t already happened today or yesterday? given that monreal has been better at LB, and calum has put in some very solid CB performances it really isn;t that big a deal to be safe with gibbs and at the very least do the utmost to ensure his next… Read more »
Not wanting to be THAT pedantic twit, but wasn’t it a 1-1 draw at Leicester? 😉
Hoping the Gibbs injury is only a minor thing thouh (which of course probably means he’s back over Christmas)
With us it’s not just any Christmas, it’s Christmas next year 😀
Corrected. Cheers.
what is going to happen o gibbs less than 24 hours before match time that hasn;t already happened? if he’s not fit now he won’t be fit for saturday. why take the risk with such a player? monreal has been solid at LB and calum has shown he can fill in at cb. bellarin has been impressive given his age and development. its burnley, a league game in oct. why are we going to the wire to make a call with gibbs?
He must not have had a fitness test since his injury prognosis and in the meantime has been in recovery treatment/exercise.
Given that the upcoming game isn’t super important I’d actually rather he sat it out and had extra recovery time for Champions League.
Surely the upcoming game, as every other league game, is super super important. Looking at how many points we’ve dropped against teams we should thump and we got super lucky against Sunderland.
Remember we’re in a season long battle for 4th place with West Ham.
Important may not be the right word, maybe big would be better.
Either way it’s a good chance to rest key personnel ahead of the Anderlecht/Swansea games knowing we have some decent talent on the bench, Alexis deserves a break definitely.
He deserves a break for sure but how do you drop your best player by a mile. At least the team has a had a week off to work on things so I’d expect Alexis to play and put in his usual shift, hopefully some of the others will up there game to match him and we’ll get a proper performance.
i totally get your perspective here and completely agree – often being incredibly frustrated that we can raise our game to beat barcelona and then get beat with a whimper against stoke. every game offers the points that could be the difference in may,
but having key players fit for long periods of the season is more important than any one game – unless its a champions league 2nd leg hanging in the balance/cup final game/last few games of the season.
And come back Abou, too I really miss you. Conquer that vortex, you know you can…..
I really hoped Diaby can come back and make something of his Arsenal career but sincerely, I can’t see him getting another contract. Really sad. Could have been different but for that Journeyman Dan Smith.
Good job Per is fit and not suffering from the slight injury he seemed to have on Saturday
I didn’t fancy a back four of Bellerin, Chambers, Monreal, Flamini
i think diaby deserves another contract, even if its on a pay to play basis, getting rid of him may prove detrimental.he has the drive to come back and i am sure when he does he will prove himself, tomas and van pussy both recovered from their injury nightmares in their late twenties to early thirties in tomas case.we are always crying for someone with the drive of sanchez and i see that in diaby.how many of us will keep trying and trying again after every injury or setback? i know i wouldnt
Same back five that finished at Sunderland, Arteta, Jack, Ramsey, Santi, Sanchez, and Welbeck should be enough to give Burnley fits.
Here’s to better pass completion stats, better ball retention, and quicker passing on Saturday.
Ha, Abou Diaby is the luckiest man alive, he’s barely played since 2006, relatively speaking, and he probably earns about 50,000 a week. I’m on 23,000 grand a year and I have to work my arse off every day. Why should anyone care about Abou bloody Diaby?
A career doing the thing he loves totally destroyed by injury. Some ‘luck’, for some it’s not about the money.
Furthermore, he’s didn’t accept any pay while he was out injured. It went to charity. How much of your 23K would go to charity if you were unable to work for a year due to injury?
If Gibbs needs another week, I’d say rest him. Bellerin – Calum – Per – Monreal Coquelin and/or Flamini can deputise for either fullback position. More worrying is Cback but I suppose if anything happens then Monreal will push in. Bare bones. A CBack in January. Apparently Hummels still hasn’t committed to 14th place Dortmund. Also there’s Subotic and frankly either will do for me. Both are right age at 25 with sufficient experience but still good years ahead (Median between our aging Meterscielny pairing and the younger hopefuls in Chambers and/or Hayden). Both are 6’3 which is sufficient height… Read more »
Diaby – I think he is a viable option in the midfield link role. The issue we face at the moment is not one of formation. As I have mentioned, 4-2-3-1 is 4-14-1 depending on how you emphasis things. The key issue is Jack has not been able to balance out his role supporting the forwards and protecting the DM sufficiently yet. Ramsey is only getting back to sharpness. There is also Rosicky as an option in this role. Diaby brings another dimension. If fit, he can bring a physical dimension to the role next to either Arteta or Flamini.… Read more »
Don’t risk Gibbs for Burnley of all teams. To show how bad they are I’d put a picture of Stephen Ward here but I don’t know how.
They’re below QPR
On another subject the daily star story not good news that Sanchez unhappy and wants a move hopefully newspaper garbage as usual
Correction Dortmund are in fifteenth.
Some would say lets grab him now in place of Wenger but do you really want a gaffer who can’t maintain consistency? Rock and roll one hit wonder no thanks. Even with sell off of players he should be gunning top 4 in the far less challenging Bundesliga.
Some perspective there.
I believe we may even be able to catch them in the CL.
To arsependant, how much of my 23,000 A year goes towards tax, bills and living costs. Most of it does. Are you for real mate? While he was out injured you’re telling me he donated his wages to charity? Around 1.5 million a year Diaby has earned since 2006. He’s not exactly struggling is he?