Song, Djourou, Denilson and Fabregas could all figure at Emirates
Four may return for Blackpool clash
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By Richard Clarke
Arsène Wenger may welcome back up to FOUR players for the visit of Blackpool on Saturday.
Alex Song (calf), Johan Djourou (hamstring), Denilson (abdominal) all missed the 1-1 draw at Anfield last weekend through injury while Cesc Fabregas also sat out the game because he lacked match fitness. Robin van Persie did feature as a substitute but he, too, is working his way back after his World Cup travails.
That quintet could all be involved at Emirates Stadium this weekend. The only real question mark is over the Brazilian but the manager did suggest he would not rush back the two finalists from South Africa.
"All are available - at different levels [of fitness]," Wenger told TV Online on Thursday. "I need to make up my mind who I integrate in the squad. But there is no major problem for anybody really.
"Denilson has not played since April 14 and not played one minute of a game [in pre-season]. He still needs to work. All the others are quite available - at least to be on the bench.
"But at the same time we do not want to rush it. To have a good season you need a good preparation so we want to especially build up Cesc and Van Persie well. They came back on August 5 and you need three to four weeks preparation if you want to do well in the Premier League."
Nicklas Bendtner (groin), Samir Nasri (knee), Emmanuel Frimpong (knee) and Aaron Ramsey (leg) will be missing. Laurent Koscielny is suspended after his dismissal at Liverpool on Sunday.
TV Online subscribers will be able to see the full interview with Arsène Wenger on Friday morning. In it he talks about:
- The season-settling point at Liverpool
- The different goals Marouane Chamakh can score
- The loss of Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Frimpong
- The latest injury news
- The rumours surrounding new centre backs and keepers
- Playing Blackpool at the start of the season
- Why the critics might be wrong about them
[Thursday, August 19, 2010]
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