Injury-hit Gunners hope for upturn with Sunderland win
>> LONDON: Arsene Wenger will attempt to get Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge back on track against Sunderland today after enduring another week of criticism about the club’s injury record.
Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla became the two latest names to be added to a lengthy injury list and will be missing when the rejuvenated Black Cats visit the Emirates Stadium.
The pair were injured in last weekend’s draw at Norwich, a result that prevented Wenger’s side moving level on points with the top two Manchester City and Leicester.
Sanchez’s injury drew particular attention with the Gunners manager having admitted the forward had felt his hamstring in the week preceding the trip to Carrow Road and Wenger has yet to discover how long the Chile international will be out for.
The length of Cazorla’s absence after suffering a knee injury at Norwich is similarly unknown and with French midfielder Francis Coquelin having only recently been ruled out for three months with a knee problem, Wenger admits it has been a testing month.
“Yes [I’m glad November is over] because in the last couple of weeks we lost Francis, Alexis and Santi — basically three players in two games,” he said.
“That is of course too much, but hopefully we now have Theo [Walcott] not too far away, and [Laurent] Koscielny coming back too.”
Wenger, though, hopes adversity will bring the best out of his players.
“We prepared ourselves to go through periods like that and I’m convinced the players are ready.
“We have gone through a little bit of a bad spell in recent games, but we are two points off the top.
“The great opportunity for us is that, despite that bad spell, we are very close.
“That’s why it’s important that we keep our confidence high and our determination high, and start winning again.”
Left-back Kieran Gibbs has returned from a calf problem and could be joined in the squad by Koscielny and Walcott.