The Arsenal medical team have provided the latest fitness update ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Huddersfield.
The Gunners travel north to the side propping up the table with just 11 points so far this season, knowing they need a win to bounce back from the defeat by Man City and to continue the fight for a top four finish.
There’s welcome news with the return of Henrikh Mkhitaryan who hasn’t played since 2-0 loss to Sp*rs in the Carabao Cup in mid-December. He had a run-out in Monday night’s abandoned U23 game, and should return to the squad.
There were concerns over the fitness of Shkodran Mustafi but the German is fit and in full training, however Granit Xhaka remains a doubt with the groin strain that kept him out of the game at the Etihad on Sunday, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles who has a knee injury.
Beyond that, Sokratis is still on course for a late February comeback, and then it’s the long-termers: Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding who will miss the rest of the season, while there’s still time for Danny Welbeck to return following surgery on a broken ankle before he departs for free this summer.
Top four finish crucial as Arsenal face another summer of transition
Any news regarding AMN?
Never mind, just missed it. I’ll downvote myself ?
Good lad
Mustafi fit and ready to play… Devastating news
Fit maybe, ready to play, nah mate
Or rather Fit but shouldn’t play
and suddenly we have so many wingers to fit in the squad
I would give Jenkinson a game here at right back, and if he plays well, I’d give him a run in the team (Leitchsteiner can play the Europa League games where the pace is generally slower).
Agreed Jenkins on much better option ..or mustafi at rb and get mavraponos game time
This could be the last Herbert Chapman derby for a while…..
Doubts over Mustafis fitness aren’t the concern. The concern is if he is available, and worse that Emery will pick him.
Bwhahahahaha!!!
there were ‘concerns’ about Mustafi. Hah. Yeah. Ok.
Where’s Papa?
Looking through the comments, its crazy to see how much hate Mustafi gets. I get that he probably isnt good enough to play for us, but he still plays for this club, and that should atleast make people who supposedly support this club, also support him (or atleast not constantly talk about him in a negative way). Who knows he might play better if he feels he has the support of the fans.
I see you, Mrs Mustafi.
I think he’s had enough time to adjust and improve and he hasn’t so I’d like to see the back of him now. That’s what I see people expressing here. Not hatred.
Agree that some here are too negative about him. He has some qualities. On offensive corners, he is our biggest threat to oppositions with his powerful header.
True but terribly inconsistent and when he is bad he is really bad. We need better than that.
When all our CB’s are fit he won’t get a look in so……sell him!
What is this “When all our CB’s are fit” thing? I have never heard such a crazy idea. We are The Arsenal and we have standards and traditions to uphold.
You reap what you sow
I sewed a shirt the other day, and sure enough I went a ripped it again.
When you say “welcome news with the return of Henrikh Mkhitaryan” do you mean “welcome” as in, it is good to have some new information to share for this highly demanding specialist news site. Or “welcome” as in “Thank God! Henrikh Mikhitarian is back and so is the solution to all of our problems.”
I think it’s welcome news for Emery as it gives him another excuse not to play Ozil
I wouldn’t write off Mkhitaryan at all. I’ve seen him playing at Dortmund for years and this boy is quality if used in the right way and if he’s on form. And Dortmund under Klopp played a pretty similar style to the way Emery wants to play. High pressing and quick transition. He hasn’t even had half a season with the new coach and the system and the personel around him has changed constantly during that time. Think him, as well as Iwobi, could come good under Emery, once he’s a few steps further in regards of the squad and… Read more »
Mkhitaryan himself has said he’s not the same player we saw at Dortmund
There are two ifs in your second sentence which kind of sums Mkhi up.
https://www.facebook.com/SokratisPapastathopoulos/videos/875894022802822
Sokratis seems to be out there running and working with the ball already. I guess that’s good news. Would be really good to have him back for the games against Sp*rs and United. The earlier the better.
Xhaka also posted a picture back on the training pitch, so his injury can’t be too bad.
We will need all our assets avaialble. Yes that includes Mustafi whom some prefert to simplistically vilify. As I mentioned much of this is imagined preference. Sokratis has manhandled people in the box performing Pankration and he is lauded for being ‘robust’. Mustafi merely touches someone and there are all these hytsrical cries (not from Atkinson the ref or Adrain Clarke even) for his head. Yet when Koscielny gives away a free kick in a dangerous area just outside the box. Nothing heard. When Mustafi makes an excellent recovery tackle nothing heard. We will need Mustafi (for all his faults… Read more »
When I used to run a (rather large) Arsenal forum, it were idiots like you and their straw-men, non zero-sum arguments, that made me eventually pack it in. And here you are again. Yay.
Pack it in.
It’s too hard for us to be in top four since we are unable to buy players
Or keep the ones we have fit it seems!
Leno, Rob, Sok and Koz, Hector and Nacho, Torreria, Xhaka and Guendouzi all fit should have kept us there or there abouts. Losing these guys on and off or for the whole season as with some, has killed us.