Koscielny fails in his Cup final bid
LAuREnT KOSCIELnY will miss Arsenal’s FA Cup final after his appeal against his sending- off in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Everton was rejected by the Football Association.
The 31-year-old Frenchman will serve a three-match ban after receiving a red card in the 14th minute for a reckless challenge on Everton’s Enner Valencia.
Koscielny launched an appeal to avoid missing this weekend’s FA Cup final against Chelsea. But the FA have rejected the defender’s plea, meaning he will not feature in Saturday’s final at Wembley and will have to sit out the first two games of Arsenal’s 2017-18 campaign.
Koscielny’s absence is a further disappointment for manager Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal boss has fitness concerns over fellow defenders Gabriel paulista and Shkodran Mustafi.
Meanwhile, England manager Gareth Southgate has checked on the fitness of Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck ahead of tomorrow’s squad announcement.
Welbeck is available for international selection after recovering from a serious knee injury that ruled him out of the opening half of the season. However, the Arsenal forward has a niggling toe problem and has been nursed through the final weeks of the season.
Southgate is an admirer of Welbeck but wants to be sure of the forward’s fitness before giving him an international return.
England staff are being updated on his fitness ahead of tomorrow’s squad announcement for the forthcoming games against Scotland and France.
It remains to be seen whether Welbeck is handed a place in Southgate’s party for next month’s games but it is clear the 26-year-old is in the manager’s thoughts ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Welbeck, who has 34 England caps, was due to play a key role in Euro 2016, but a knee injury meant he did not feature for Roy Hodgson in France. Since returning to fitness in January, Welbeck has scored four goals.
Welbeck’s team-mate Kieran Gibbs is also being considered for a recall. With Danny Rose and Luke Shaw unavailable through injury, the Arsenal left back could be included as back-up to Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand.