Though the fall-out from Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester United continues, Arsene Wenger and his team are no doubt looking forward. There’s Aston Villa to play on the weekend in the FA Cup, and Bolton and Blackburn to follow in the coming weeks. Three games that Arsenal can and should win. But do the Gunners have the wherewithal to come out of the next three games having proceeded to the next round of the FA Cup and with six Premier League points added to their tally?
Injury problems have clearly been the root of a number of Arsenal’s problems, but things should ease up on this front over the next couple of weeks. By the end of January the Gunners will have five players back fit and ready for contention that weren’t available for the Man United game with Jack Wilshere to follow by mid-February.
The man that Arsenal have missed most over the last couple of weeks has to be Mikel Arteta. His calming presence and passing ability has been sorely missed as the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song have often failed to assert their authority in the centre of the park in his absence.
Luckily he should be back and ready to play in Arsenal’s FA Cup fixture this Sunday. He’ll offer the Gunners a wealth of experience, a cool-head and a little more competitiveness in their midfield. He’ll be joined by Francis Coquelin and Thierry Henry, who both return from injury to add more options to Arsene’s injury-crippled squad.
But the most pressing issue with Arsenal’s squad has been a lack of real full-backs. The good news on this front is that both Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna should feature when the Gunners go to Bolton on Wednesday the 1st of February. That means no more playing centre-backs out of position and no more relying on youngsters like Ignasi Miquel or Nicholas Yennaris. Instead Arsenal can once more rely on some full-backs with genuine pedigree.
But the player fans are most excited to see return from injury is probably Jack Wilshere. Jack’s been out injured since the summer and Arsenal have really missed his drive and creativity at the heart of their midfield. He’ll return at a vital point in the Gunner’s season and may provide the impetus that leads them to finish fourth.
That’ll leave long-term injury victims Andres Santos, Diaby and Carl Jenkinson on the sidelines and unlikely to return in the near future. But with the likes of Arteta and Wilshere on the way back, do the Gunners have enough firepower to win a trophy this season?
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the absence of the fighting spirit and brilliant passes of Mikel Arteta has cause a big set back in our midfield. now i feel so happy to learned that he’s back and will be playing our next game against aston villa. all the luck gunnerz!!!!