Arsene Wenger says Jack Wilshere is available for Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final with Reading having come through Monday’s run out with the under-21s unscathed.
The England international has featured twice for Steve Gatting’s side in the last 10 days and could now be selected for the Saturday evening clash.
The news isn’t so positive for Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, neither of whom are fit enough to partake at Wembley.
The Spaniard appears to have had a slight setback in his rehabilitation from ankle surgery, while the Ox is out for ‘at least’ two more weeks with ‘iliopsoas inflammation’ or ‘a gammy groin’ as it’s known at Arseblog towers.
There don’t appear to be any new injuries from the Burnley clash so we head to Wembley with a strong squad and full of beans.
“We have a massive squad of 24 players at the moment,” noted the boss, who also confirmed that Wojciech Szczesny will start in goal.
“There are also players on loan. It’s important to get the right dimension.
“We know each other better now and have a better balance in our team between attacking and defending.
“All the players have top, top quality which makes it very difficult for me to pick my best team. They all deserve to play.”
I can imagine Jack could get some playing time at the weekend if he’s been looking good behind the scenes. He needs a little game-time and while we have to Reading seriously, I think there is room for him to get a hour under his belt and show if he’s got space to contribute right now.
In any case, I think the squad’s in a great position to continue on our strong run!
Disagree- save it for Hull or someone like that. The two Wembley games are really our only ‘must win’ games remaining, as I don’t feel like City or Liverpool have enough to rein us in too much, and surely at some point United are going to remember that they’re actually not very good and stop winning, hopefully after they beat Chelsea at the Bridge.
ridiculous – so he’s been out for almost most of the season and he deserves to start over the likes of Cazorla, Rosicky and Ramsey? I hate how sometimes people just see Wilshere walking into the line up ahead of players who actually have gotten us where we are. Please don’t take this in a negative way but, after the season Cazorla’s had, of Rosicky’s performance in the FA Cup esp Brighton away, how is it justifiable to them that Wilshere just comes back from a long spell and takes their place for such a crucial game in our season… Read more »
I know it’s a semi final, but it IS still a Championship team so it’s probably the best time to give some guys a rest and get a few others up to speed.
If we’re not beating Reading after an hour, bring on Santi/Giroud and watch them crumble, easy.
You must have been living under a rock this time last year if that’s your attitude going into this game. What you said is correct on paper, but that’s where the connection to reality ends.
No, but I’d lean more on perspective and actual thought rather than focusing on ‘OMFG it nearly went so wrong last year’, and that tells me that we can afford to rest a few players.
The first of two Wembley matches we need to take seriously.
If we take it at all seriously we will win. We have 11 internationals, including at least one World Cup winner, the Golden Gloves winner from last season, lots of recent wins, 9 of our last 10, better balance in the side now, are second in the PL, are defending the cup, have played at Wembley last time. Reading have won 2 of their last ten matches, no internationals (of any major nation), are 18th in the Championship. Complacency is our biggest enemy.
I hope we have learnt from the semi last time.
Not forgetting we’ve got our solid Coq this time around! I don’t think we’ll have another embarrassing semi
Was going to thumb you down but a good “Coq” joke well done son!
no news on diaby?
No setback. He’s fit.
Well…fit in that inimitable Diaby way.
What about Diaby the Injury god?
I hope he gets some game time at the weekend after securing the win in the first 30 minutes. Knowing Arsenal we will make it the hardest match to be ever played in the last 30 years.
Wembley Wembley..we are the famous arsenal and we are going to Wembley..
I’ll be honest. Would much rather have the most boring 1-0 win in living memory than the usual heart attack session. Don’t go breaking my heart, Arsenal.
I think you’ll find that 1-0 is very heart attack conducive as well. I’d take a boring 5-0 if that’s even possible.
See Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea
Please Arsene, play our strongest team, no tinkering, resting players with an eye on the Chelsea game etc. UTA
I hope Wenger has a plan on how to manage a large healthy squad. At the beginning of the season I felt our depth players were being underused, as we hardly used Rosicky, Podolski and Campbell, and only played Bellerin once there was absolutely no way to make do with just Mert, Kos, Monreal, Gibbs and Chambers anymore. Hopefully Wenger will be a bit more willing to let the squad players get involved now that things are going well. It’s not even just about keeping players happy, it’s also about keeping them sharp for when we do need them. I… Read more »
Have a look at what’s happened during the two summer transfer windows since our finances have allowed us to start buying ‘top table’ players. 2013: Ozil in. 25 players out, including Denilson (eventually), Chamakh, Gervinho, and Arshavin. 2014: Alexis and Debuchy in. 15 player out, including Vermaelen, Bendtner, and Fabianski. Like it, love it, or hate the idea, players are going to leave this transfer window and ‘more influential’ ones are going to arrive. The quality of our squad has always been about money (and how the relative lack of it has been restrictive). It not just that we currently… Read more »
I think he trusts the squad players he has now too, it’s far more likely for Gnabry or the Ox to get a start than Campbell or Podolski, or maybe even Theo.
I can’t understand the will of some Arsenal fans to see JW coming back. The team is so much better without him as it has always been since the start of the season. He loses balls, creates nothing, goals nothing which is a shame as he played in the n°10 role (Caz being out on the bench and Özil on the left). The bad start of the seaons isn’t the WC hangover, it’s Arsène stubborness at playing the new England darling as n°10! Now he is fit again? Good for him, but the team doesn’t need a mediocre player compared… Read more »
Correct
i couldn’t agree more with this statement. why people still think that jack walks into this starting 11 is beyond me. he’s behind ozil, cazorla, coq, ramsey, ros and ox as far as i’m concerned.
While I agree that his time out has pushed him down the pecking order, it’s just ridiculous to blame the start of the season on Jack. He was easily our 2nd best player for the first few games, and his performance against city might be our best individual performance this season. We were bad because we had no fit defenders and because ozil/giroud/ramsey/cazorla were exhausted.
He just needs some time to get match-fit and work his way back into the squad, and that probably shouldn’t be done in a semifinal, regardless of the opposition.
i love how everyone always brings up his performance in our home draw against man city. i much prefer his performance in our 2-nil away win against man city. or maybe you enjoyed his performance in our 2-1 home loss against man united where i enjoyed his performance in our 2-1 away win in the fa cup. oh yes, and lets not forget that game he had against barcelona five years ago. i actually do blame the start of the season on wenger playing jack in the middle versus ozil or cazorla. jack creates very little. our defence wasn’t great,… Read more »
And don’t forget Ramsey, he is shit as well, average player, keeps giving ball away. Ah, the short sighted play station generation.
My favorite Arsenal player is the Ox, he is not the best but still my fav.
I miss watching him play, get well bro.
Your biggest fan.
Szczesny
Gibbs Gabriel Mertersacker Debuchy
Rosicky Flamini Wiltshire
Walcott Welbeck Ozil
Subs. Ospina, Koschielny, Monreal, Giroud, Coquelin, Sanchez, Ramsey
I settle for that because most will be hungry, as opposed to slight loss in appetite from last match.
You’ve been voted down, but I quite like that team. The beauty of our squad at the moment if that there aren’t that many weak links, and Wenger needs to rotate players. Of that 11, the only players I’d be even remotely concerned about are Theo (who we know is capable and just needs game time) and possibly Flamini (who is a little limited but otherwise a solid player). Everyone else in that line up I’m more than happy with. In fact, I actively WANT to see Debuchy, Gabriel, JW, Gibbs and Tommy play. All of them are excellent, and… Read more »
Bringing in a couple of other players to give them some game time and keep the squad fresh? Yes, sure!
Bringing in 9 different players and one in a different position compared to the last game? Recipe for disaster.
Do you think that playing…
Chesney
Debuchy – BFG – Gabriel – Gibbs
Flamini – Wilshere
Walcott – Ozil – Rosicky
Welbeck
…would result in “disaster”?
That is a really good team on paper, but yes, I think it would be a disaster. The defence would probably be fairly stable, but changing every single front-6 player except Ozil will mean that there will be absolutely no fluidity in midfield, as none of those nice automatisms Mertesacker was talking about are present. Individual quality would likely still decide the game in our favour, but this kind of team really risks being overrun by a committed team of inferior quality that knows how to play together.
I get what you’re saying about fluidity (to an extent anyway, these players all train with each other on a daily basis), but “overrun” is a bit strong.
If Flamini is out of his depth (if he’s out of his depth against Readings midfield, his career really is in the pan) then bring on Coq. If Walcott only touches the ball 3 times in 45 minutes, hook him and bring on Sanchez.
Its not rocket science.
Yep
I think the vote down is entirely for the typos..;0)
Maybe. I let them slide.
Your name is Damobot, plus you said Wiltshire…
Anyway I was just passing by.
Yeah, what’s up with that? Wiltshire, Carzola? Don’t they ever read the captions on televised match or on some arsenal related news somewhere?
so you’ve dropped Santi entirely?
That’s ballsy
Ballsy in the bad way, damp, hairy, smelly ballsy.
Dropping a player is completely different to resting a crucial player for a lessor opponent match before crucial match.
No need to rotate for this match. We have 1 week to recover for the next one. Just rotate out players who might have nigging injuries like kos and alexis.
Nah. We’ve been crying out for a decent squad for years, now we have one, people want us to play the same 9/10 players every game?
I’d like to see what answer our two “first choice” full backs have to being usurped from their positions. I’d like to see if Theo can get back to being the player we were all (relatively) happy to pay top wages for.
To be honest, I’d like to see Tomas Rosicky play some part in every game we play.
To clarify this, I think we should have been rotating long before now, but the change in competition just might be the thing that jolts AW into doing it.
Yep, we have won 8 in a row took more points than anyone this year. When will Wenger listen and start rotating. It’s as clear as day playing the same team is not working.
Rotation applies when we have 2 games per week, when we have players with niggling injuries, when we have players that deserved to be benched as they underperformed. Not when we can just for the sake of it.
Why even take a chance like that? Play a totally different line up just because we can is nonsensical.
You probably got more downvotes for the crazy formation and for misspelling Wilshere’s name than for anything else. That’s a line-up that fifteen out of twenty premiership teams would sell their souls to be able to start every match. See Chopper4001’s post for the correct line-up using those players.
I agree with some other posters that it’s probably too many changes all at once, but I think Szczesny, Walcott, and Rosicky should all start this one and Wilshere should come in for twenty or thirty minutes at the end.
really hope rozza starts the game
For me, I want to see Gabriel & Welbeck get a start & for Wilshire to get some time in the second half. I’d like to see Welbeck continue his fine goal scoring form at Wembley. Otherwise, keep the rest of the team fairly settled so we don’t lose this amazing rhythm that we’ve found. Fingers crossed it’s an easier victory than last years Semi, I think it will be.
this is the type of problem I wish Wenger has all this years. not that some average players will just get automatic shirts. now for you to play for Arsenal you must be on top of your game that is ability to attack and defend. also we don’t sign mediocre again neither did we sell our best product. I Love this new Arsenal
The nearest I see Wilshere getting is a place on the bench. Wenger wouldn’t want to joke with this FA CUP. It’s ours to lose and Reading, Villa and Liverpool shouldn’t be underrated. #COYG
If I were Wenger I would do a rotation. My squad for Wembley would be Scezy, Chambers, Debuchy, Gabriel, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Rosicky, Walcott, Ramsey and Welbeck. 4-2-3-1 but Chambers at RB and Debuchy at CB to complement Gabriel who is still adapting. Sub: Ospina, Koscielny, Monreal, Cazorla, Ozil,Alexis and Giroud.
Too bad I am not Wenger and never been a manager my self except for FIFA career mode of course.
Managing the club the size of Arsenal week in week out must be pretty hectic. Kudos to you Mr. Wenger no wonder they call you proffesor.
So you’d play 2 players out of position and in defence as well… Interesting tactics. Is this to confuse Reading?
Play the best team available and if we are comfortable with 30 minutes to go ie 3.0 up,take off Koscielney Ozil and whoever else. Don’t fuck this up by rotating too much. Please.
The Wembley games are our most important games for now…. at least Arsenal deserve a silver wear this season and worst 2nd on the EPL log. I don’t know why I just have a feeling, Chelsea is gonna fumble on the way.
They are facing the resurgent Man U, The fighting Relegation team- Leicester, The inform Crystal Palace, Liverpool who will want to displace City for 4th, The Desperate Arsenal and the others who might just pull a surprise against ’em….
Chesney
Bellerin Mert Kos Monreal
Coq Santi
Ramsey Ozil Sanchez
Giroud
No quarter.
That’s Sir Chesney to you.
Good thing in our favour with the Reading game its at wembley and theres no home or away advantage, no matter what players we play if we play our quick passing keep ball game on the large pitch we should dictate the game through out, im quite confident now the way the squad is playing and the tactical approach is good on the eye, i hope walcott gets some game time hes pace will flourish on that pitch and keep the reading LB from bombing fwd
Well, to be fair, wembley is like our second home 😉
All arsenal games make you a. Mental wreck even when were 3-0 up lol
I need to get my right iliopsoas looked at. I wonder if Shad is available on private hire?
As for Wilshere I watched the under-21s game and he did look good but I don’t think the current balance of our starting 11 should be experimented with for the semi-final.
As much as I’d like Wilshere to succeed, if something is not broken don’t fix it.
I cannot believe this “let’s play the players we like it’s only Reading” stuff!
Play our strongest team please!
Change the keeper by all means and maybe Debuchy comes in but that’s it imho!
Its called rotation.. We do need to let the backup play as well so they integrate well with the team as well. I think keeper will be rotated, Debuchy will get in back to rest Bellerin.. Welbeck definitely too.. and the middle pack will see rotation too IMHO.
Let’s rotate in the PL not the FA Cup we won’t catch Chelski and top three should be safe
Simple. Put out your strongest team against Reading. When we are winning after 60 mins or so (which really we should be) – then give Jack and anyone else who needs if game time. So long as Arsenal look comfortable to see out the match.