Chamberlain return gives Arsenal boost
LONDON: Arsenal travel to Norwich City on Sunday with no fresh injury concerns and boosted by the return of midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, manager Arsene Wenger said.
The Gunners go into the game hoping to get their first Premier League win of November following a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Nov 8 and Saturday’s 2-1 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion, that saw them drop to fourth in the table, two points adrift of leaders Leicester City.
They bounced back by beating Dinamo Kiev 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, and will look to continue their impressive away form in the league, where they have lost just two of their seven games on the road this season.
“We should have everybody available, the players who played on Tuesday night, plus maybe Chamberlain should be back in the squad,” Wenger told reporters at his pre-match news conference.
The Frenchman blamed the loss to West Brom on bad luck, but backed his team to bounce back against 16th-placed Norwich.
“It’s true we had a bad result. I think it was very unfortunate to lose this game but we showed a good and quick response on Tuesday night [against Dinamo].
“On the day everything went against us. It was an unlucky day,” he said.
November is the cruellest month for Wenger, one in which his Arsenal teams average their lowest points-per-game ratio.
The manager all but ruled out a rest for Alexis Sanchez, despite the return of Chamberlain and a fit-again Aaron Ramsey, who came on as a substitute in midweek after over a month on the sidelines.
“I will have to assess [Sanchez] a bit later. Spontaneously, it is not the best moment to rest him,” Wenger said.
He added that Theo Walcott would not play against Norwich, although the striker has stepped up his recovery work from the calf-muscle strain that has kept him out since Oct 27.
There was positive news as well for Francis Coquelin, who injured a knee ligament against West Brom, with Wenger confirming the midfielder would not need surgery.
With Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Dannny Welbeck ruled out, Wenger said he could look to strengthen the squad in January, but only if he found the right quality.
“For us a bargain is to buy players of top quality, only top quality strengthens our squad. I bought [Patrick] Vieira for £2.5 million — a top bargain,” he said.
GREALISH DROPPED BY VILLA
Aston Villa have axed midfielder Jack Grealish from the squad for tomorrow’s match against Watford over his off-thefield behaviour.
New manager Remi Garde said 20-yearold Grealish was “not professional” after he was pictured partying following Villa’s 4-0 Premier League defeat to Everton last weekend.
Grealish has since been training with the under-21 side and would continue to do so, Garde said at yesterday’s press conference.
“He won’t be included in the squad for Watford,” said Garde. “[His actions] are not of the professional standard that I expect from my players. That is why Jack is training in the under-21 team.”
Garde added: “He is not playing at the weekend and at this stage, I think that is enough. Jack has got a lot of ability but he needs to improve his game and work at it.”