Arsene Wenger Reveals Double Injury Blow Ahead Of Swansea Game
Jan 13, 2017 at 4:50 PM
Arsenal duo Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin will miss tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Swansea, confirms Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal visit relegation-threatened Swansea looking to collect a valuable three points to revitalise their title challenge.
A dramatic comeback to earn a 3-3 draw against Bournemouth was not enough to prevent Arsenal sliding out of the top four last week, with leaders Chelsea still eight points ahead of Wenger’s men despite a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham.
Swansea seem like the perfect opponents as they sit 19th in the table, but Paul Clement won his first league game in charge and will be eager to prove his credentials against Wenger in front of a hopeful Liberty Stadium crowd.
Arsenal will have to face Swansea without Bellerin, who suffered an injury during a training session, and Coquelin who limped off during the dramatic 3-3 draw with Bournemouth.
The French boss said: “Bellerin is still out as is Coquelin. They are not far.”
However, their absence will be softened by the return of Alexis Sanchez, Petr Cech and Mesut Ozil – all of whom missed Saturday’s FA Cup victory over Preston.
Wenger added: “Koscielny is coming back. Cech, Ozil and Sanchez are all back.”
The Gunners manager continued to discuss the fitness of Theo Walcott and revealed he expects the England international to miss another two weeks.
He said: “Walcott was out for three-and-a-half weeks. He will not be available for Burnley.
“He was not comfortable when he started to train, but I am not concerned – I think two weeks.”
Walcott remains an absentee for the trip to Wales along with the following match against Burnley due to an ongoing calf problem.
There’s a major burden on Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud to perform this Saturday if he does retain his place in Wenger’s XI, having netted three goals in his last four games across all competitions.
The most recent of those performances was another heroic display in the 2-1 win at Preston, where he netted an 89th-minute winner.