Ahead of the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham on Saturday, the Gunners’ boss, Arsene Wenger, has given update on his team.
Addressing reporters ahead of the match, Wenger confirms that Olivier Giroud is out with injury, while Shkodran Mustafi and Danny Welbeck could feature.
He said, “Giroud picked up an injury, I don’t think he will be available. It’s short term, we have to assess him on Monday.
“Mustafi will have a final check tomorrow, Welbeck as well.
“I will make decisions on them tomorrow.”
Speaking on the long-term injury absentee Santi Cazorla, “It is the worst injury I’ve known.
“It’s gone from worse to worse. I know how much Santi loves to play football.
“I wish (he returns in January). He tries to practice. I hope he comes back in January.
“I hope that you are wrong (that he might not play again).”
On Saturday’s game, he added, “It’s one of the fixtures I look forward to. We want to win. “In the table we need to make some ground up on the top teams. At home we have been strong.”
On Arsenal being the underdogs in the Saturday’s game he said, “No. Not at all. “Spurs are a good side – but we have the quality.
“To keep him quiet yes. We have no fear. We are focused on nullifying their strong points.
“He [Pochettino] is a good manager. He has all the ingredients to go a long way.
“It’s very hard for me to predict what will happen in his career. He will be a manager for a long time.”
On the best North London club presently, Wenger states, “We will see at the end of the season. Support the team for 90 minutes. We won the FA Cup and finished with 75 points.”
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