Arsene Wenger says there are doubts over the involvement of Mathieu Flamini and Hector Bellerin ahead of Arsenal’s match with Crystal Palace this Saturday.
The boss also confirmed that Aaron Ramsey, Mathieu Debuchy and Mikel Arteta remain sidelined, although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is closing in on full fitness.
“Ramsey is still out,” Wenger told Arsenal.com. “The two other injuries are Arteta and Debuchy.
“Apart from that we have some uncertainties about Flamini and Bellerin – they are doubtful for Saturday. Everybody else is OK.
“Bellerin is his ankle and Flamini has a tight hamstring. We’ll see. We’ll have tests tomorrow [Friday].
“Wilshere is fine. Ramsey is nine days into his three-week rehab. Oxlade Chamberalain is close. He will join in normal training today.”
In light of the above, Arseblog News suspects Calum Chambers will fill in at right back with Francis Coquelin returning to the starting line-up in midfield having been rested in the FA Cup win over Boro.
I can get used to this
Boy! I’ve missed the Ox; so glad he’s back. His direct runs is always a joy to watch. Hope he can stay fit for the rest of the season.
Strength in depth.
Coq deep.
Is Chamber-alain that new french prospect?
Most seem to have missed your joke completely 😉
Its unreal how many morons we have here that can’t spot a funny aside. I counted 38 down votes! Its never that serious folks!
What about Diaby?
Now we have Gabriel, Inanimate Carbon Rod appears to have been forgotten about, too. Wasn’t so long ago ICR was a first choice CB.
Inanimate Carbon Rod has to fight for a place on the team like everyone else.
the inanimate carbon rod has to be in Los Angeles so Magic Johnson can thank it in person.
Was thinking the same. It says a lot about the prospects of him playing this season.
you beat me to it! I’m wondering if that’s all for Diaby. He’s out of contract this season I think…
Yes, that is probably all for Diaby. Unfortunately. On the other hand, Pogba would be probably a nice fit for that empty squad spot.
P.s. Shut the fuck up and let me dream.
Wouldn’t it be fucking wonderful to see him putting in a massive crunching fucking tackle on RVP before feeding the ball through to Alexis who smashes the ball in, winning us the 2015-16 title at Old Trafford?? Ahhhh… I’ll join you on that dream of yours!
If Debuchy and Arteta are the only injuries I’m assuming he’s OK but just chilling out around the training ground.
Exactly!!!… Is he a back room staff now? Seeing as he is no longer being listed as one of the injured players and obviously isn’t playing..
Interred at Pere Lachaise.
Diaby…? Venga wa’gwarn?
A bit concerning that there’s an extra week added to Ramsey’s rehab, but it’s for the best that he recovers quickly.
Really hope Ox is fit for Palace. The boy’s a game-changer!
We’re better off without Ramsey at the moment anyway. I hope he recovers soon from his injury but we have better options than him ATM.
come on man! this attitude is silly. I want all guys healthy with competition even to just get on the subs bench.
We all know Wenger will be starting Ramsey no matter what form he is in.
That’s because he was easily our best player last season, probably the best player in the league, and has an absolutely huge talent. I think he’s earned a bit of faith through the leaner patches.
There is no way he was the best player in the league last season. I don’t mean to be too harsh as I like him, but Ramsey hasn’t been focussing enough on the basics this season and it’s hurting the team. He’s trying to be too flashy and that’s as much about ego as anything else. Until he curtails those habits he should be dropped.
I do agree with your assessment, I think it’s part of struggling with injury and the state of flux our team was still in, rather than an ego thing but it is only fair that he’s earned a bit of leeway with his performances last season; chopping and changing too much isn’t good for synergy, or, I suspect, team spirit. Obviously, if Wilshere comes in and blows the doors off then Rambo won’t be getting a game, or if the Ox suddenly takes a chance there when he gets back, but Ramsey is the guy in posession imo (maybe Santi,… Read more »
Who’s going to kick Santi off the ball when the next tackle they’re in will be one of Gabriel’s “cartwheelers”?
I totally agree Ramsey has gone back to his old ways by breaking up more Arsenal attacks than the other team’s defense. Every time i watch him play i just think what was Wenger thinking about when he would not bring back Cecs just think how good the team would be with him in there along with santi
Sometimes this season Ramsey has been a little frustrating, but then he goes and scores a 35 yard belter of a volley on his wrong foot and walks off like it’s an everyday occurance, so he’s alright in my book.
We’d be conceding goals galore cause Fab isnt disciplined enough for that role. He’s managing at CFC cause Willian and Oscar are both hard working midfielders who cover his tracks and then you have Matic to mop up the rest… Fab and Ozil can’t play together. We made the right choice.
An in form ramsey is probably(if not) the most complete midfielder we have.
People should look at his all round play instead of just the number of goals he scores. He’s first and formost a midfielder, not a striker.
He seems to think he’s a striker and that’s the whole problem.
That may be true, but that’s because he’s trying so hard to impressive fans who expect him to be scoring as much as he did last season.
*impress
“Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here (the thumbs down button) to see.” I just love this discovery.
Missing The Ox’s directness. But then again, we can still get a good result.
We still have Rosicky, dontcha know?
I’m actually enjoying Coq as apposed to Flamini in the holding role. Although I am slightly concerned every time he has a good game as I worry that Wenger will feel that’s the DM situation sorted! We all know that is not the case.
I agree with you for now, but if Coq keeps up this level of performance until the summer it’s dufficult to say he’s not the solution to our DM worries. Anyway it would fit nicely into Wengers new-found “competition in all positions”-strategy to bring in Schneiderlin to replace Flamini even if Coq keep delivering.
And, given the number of attacking players we have, it would easily fit into having Coquelin/Schneiderlin playing together, it doesn’t have to be DM+CM with strict defenitions of the two.
You might get thumbed down for saying so. But i agree with you. We are top 10 richest club in the world, in the best league in the world and consistently playing in europe. If Coq gets injured next season our season would be over. We need to sign a world class DM. Look at the top 2-3 teams in every top european league, they all have 2-3 top DM’s. Arteta and flamini lack pace which means the top games will pass them by. Fielding one of those two in a champions league final would not be ideal. Next summer… Read more »
I totally agree – I have the same slight concern about all positions and hope everyone has a stinker week in and week out. Hope to get relegated so Wenger will finally splash the cash and get us world class players in every position. Let us both keep wishing, GT.
Funny, I was thinking the same about Barcelona, United and Chelsea… No world class players, that’s why they got zero trophies last year…
I agree. It seems that suggesting we need to bring someone in is now unacceptable and a sign that you’re a ‘football manager’ kind of fan. Though Coquelin was unbelievable against City, I’m still quite some way off being convinced he’s of the level to be our first choice holding mid. Happy to be proven wrong, but at this stage I want Wenger to usher Flamini out the back door of London Colney, and send Sir Chips down to the South coast as soon as the transfer window opens to plant £25-30m on Southampton’s table. If we get Schneiderlin then… Read more »
Well I believe Coq could be the mythical defensive midfielder we all seek. He has done well when called upon, he leads and shows discipline in equal measure. I think we are too quick to believe a £25 million signing will be better than what we already have. Keep the faith
can chambers handle bollasie? I doubt it. hope bellerin recovers in time
Bolasie is easy to handle, you give him the ball and watch him do bugger all with it.
Really telling statistics about how we tend to score early in games – netted in the opening 30 minutes in each of the last 8 matches.
Early goal could quieten that Selhurst Park crowd. Glad the game isn’t at night too. If Chambers starts I’d be tempted to start Gibbo ahead of Monreal because he’s a bit quicker. But that would be harsh on Nacho.
Good to see that strength in depth!
On an unrelated note I’d bet my life savings on UEFA totally fluffing on punishing Chelsea. If CSKA Moscow get a 3 CL game ‘no fans’ ban for racist chanting then surely the same or similar must apply to Chelsea.
I hate Chelsea as much as anyone but you can’t expect them to control the behaviour of fans outside of the stadium.
UEFA punished the Russian football union after crowd disturbances outside the stadium after the Russia vs Poland game at Euro 2012 if I remember correctly so the precedents exist and punishment has been handed down previously.
Wow, Ex-Priest, I’ve thumbed you up at last. It’s only taken 4 years.
Well it’s certainly been worse
We will possibly have two RB out, and Im not a complete nervous wreck. What a strange feeling.
This is what its like to be an arsenal fan these days I guess. How lovely.
I wonder who would go in at right back if Chambers is injured with Flamini and Bellerin possibly out. Gibbs or Monreal could possibly play there, but neither would be ideal. I guess the only question this week then with the lineup is does Wellbeck or Walcott start wide right and possibly Gibbs or Monreal. The leaves the bench being Akpom, Wellbeck or Walcott, Rosicky, Wilshere, Gabriel, Gibbs or Monreal and Szezchny if Bellerin and Flamini can’t go. Will be nice to see Ozil and Carzola in the middle together again.
Welbeck should not be starting on current form. It has to be Özil/Big Sexy/Sanchez across the frontline.
I read the first part of that and thought ‘that can’t be right, Welbeck is good’, then read the second part and though ‘yeah, but not THAT good’.
Drop Ozil in the middle where he belongs w/ Santi and Welbeck can play wide. Jack is just back so a bench spot is perfect, and Ramsey is out, so why the hell not unless we want to rest someone just because we can. Which might be a fun, novel move.
One of the big reasons we bought Gabriel is because he can play across the entire back line. So i suppose he is the next in line in case of chambers injury. If he was playing for an injured cb, they would shift monreal to cb and put gibbs in at lb. simple solution. wow did i just say simple?
We will play BFG at RB!
But in truth, we have Gabriel who can play anywhere in back 4.
Ever wondered who’ll start in goal if Szczesny, Ospina, Martinez, Vickers, Macey, Huddart, Iliev and Keto all get injured??
Yesterday I had a horrible dream. Wenger had left Arsenal and joined Chelsea. I was like “Holy fuck man!” I was dreading to go to work the next day in my dream, fearing to face all the Chelsea supporting folks.
Then, thankfully, my mom woke me up. I was so happy it was a dream, but was feeling sick for dreaming such shit
Don’t worry. Dreams are simply a sub-conscious reflection of our concious understanding of the world around us.
Your dream actually means “Mourinho is a cunt”.
Chambers did well against Boro. I thought Gibbs has a case for a start against Palace too. Most of the players coming in against Boro gave a good account. Flamini held it together and contributed to a clean sheet playing sensibly and putting in necessary blocks on a number of occasions. Welbeck needs to get slightly sharper but I feel he is nominally better through the middle. It is either Giroud or him starting IMO, both slightly different tools for the job. Gabriel’s biggest plus is considering it is a debut, he did OK with Koscielny. We have been struggling… Read more »
Flamini seems to do fine in games against lesser opposition. Where he really gets found out is against the better teams. So I think he’d be ok for Palace, but I wouldn’t want to have to rely on him for Monaco or Man U.
Blogs you almost gave me a heartattack with Santi in the injury news picture.
Earlier on in the season people were questioning Wengers logic in sticking with SantI even though his form wasn’t great. Ramsey should be persisted with as he is undoubtedly a huge talent. He is not at the level he can be but he is class and that will shine through as it did with Carzorla.
The question is who gets dropped for Ramsey right now? I think we’d do fine with Coq and Santi playing behind Ozil in the middle. Alexis on one wing, and your pick of Welbeck, Walcott or Ox on the other, and Giroud as striker. I like Ramsey, but I don’t know I’d drop any of the in-form players to fit him immediately back into the starting 11.
Geez, he doesn’t even mention Diaby anymore.