Arsene Wenger has confirmed Arsenal star Theo Walcott and defender Nacho Monreal will miss the Gunners clash against Stoke City.
The North London club travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke in the upcoming league fixture on Saturday. After the league clash, Arsenal make a trip to Turkey as they face Galatasaray in the midweek Champions League tie.
Wenger believes that Waclott could also miss the European fixture next week.
“Walcott has an injection today so he will not play. Galatasaray is also too early. Monreal is out for tomorrow’s game. Hopefully Kieran Gibbs will be back,” Wenger explained.
Boss on @theowalcott: "He has an injection today so he will not play. Galatasaray is also too early" #SCFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/GIrjZtCH3p
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 5, 2014
TEAM NEWS: "@_nachomonreal is out for tomorrow's game. Hopefully @KieranGibbs will be back" #SCFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/4XF08AR2DT
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 5, 2014
Stoke have suffered defeats at the hands of Manchester United and Liverpool away from home in the last two matches. Mark Hughes would be hoping to bounce back at home when Stoke face Arsenal this weekend.
Wenger believes Arsenal must fight hard in order to walk away with three points from the Britannia Stadium.
“Stoke don’t lose many games at home and have good records against many good teams. It’s a football game, not a hate game. We want to focus on playing football,” Arsenal manager said in his pre-match press conference.
“It’s always a tough and committed place to go but we dictate the way we want to play at that level of commitment.”
The Frenchman confirmed that keeper Wojciech Szczęsny and right-back Mathieu Debuchy have returned to training after recovering from their respective injuries.
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