Arsene Wenger has sent somewhat mixed messages about the fitness of Alexis Sanchez ahead of Sunday’s game with Stoke.
The Chilean has been out of action since November with a hamstring strain, and has been tipped to make his comeback this weekend at the Brittania Stadium.
Speaking at his press conference tomorrow, the Arsenal manager said that Sanchez was ‘fit’ but also that his selection might still be a bit of a risk.
“There’s a question mark about Sanchez,” he said. “He has two decisive days, today and tomorrow. He’s fit; he’s worked very hard. The decision we have to make is whether to take a gamble on his injury.”
Even if he does come through the fitness tests it seems a place on the bench is about as much as we could hope for. The manager will also check the readiness of new boy Mohamed Elneny before making a decision as to his participation this weekend.
If he’s fit then what’s the gamble?
Starting him or taking him on the bench, I’d imagine..
Speaking at his press conference tomorrow. . Hmmmm
Shhhhhhhh. Time travel only messes up history if you notice it.
If he’s not fit enough to start I don’t think he should be involved at all.
If he has to come off the bench it would suggest we’re trying to chase the game, so he’d probably be more likely to put in a greater effort, which would make it more likely that he’ll aggravate his injury.
…or he might get a run out and improve his fitness regardless of the result, and play with as much effort as he always does regardless of the result.
Alexis can’t put in a ‘greater effort’ because he doesn’t know how to put in a ‘lesser effort’!
If watching bullseye taught me one thing, it’s that it’s always worth taking a gamble.
And if we lose him for the rest of the season, what then? We all go back to watching darts?
Don’t think there’s any need to take a gamble at this point. We’ve coped so far, and even if we lose we’d still be no worse than third on goal difference. Would be far worse to lose him for any longer than lose this game.
Such good sense is rare these days. Tip of the cap to you, Sir.
In hindsight identifying the right decision is very easy. However, in Alexis case it was quite obvious he needed a rest before being injured. We were complaining that Chile didn’t rest him, while he played all our games.
Now he seems to be stuck in this ‘Arsenal recovery phase’, where time stands still.
Hopefully Giroud doesn’t break down due to begin over played, before Alexis comes back into the team.
I didn’t mean before, I was one who wanted him playing back then! We were chasing the pack then, now we’re leading it, and playing far better (Southampton and first 20mins of Liverpool aside). I’m hoping he’s just been sat in a darkened room getting more and more angry at not being there to convert some of Mesut’s squandered chances. If those two hit form together we’ll walk the league.
If he has trained well without any reaction, he should be involved in the match. Any player on the pitch in a match or even the training ground is a risk.
Even kicking a football against a player can be fatal. (See Ferguson, Alex. Circa 2009).
if we are going to be title champions we should be able to beat Stoke without Alexis
Hmmmmnn…just as they say Wenger knows
A big part of the decision should be the weather (likely to be cold and wet as always) and field conditions, if it were a home match on a solid pitch that would make the decision easier, but playing away if the pitch is in rough shape and/or it’s going to be nasty weather then would add to the risk.
The last time Wenger used the word ‘gamble’ in reference to Alexis it had a bad ending, so I’m tempted to say don’t do it. Stoke still have more than their share of ogres.
He is like a new signing
Hate the use of the word “gamble”