Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news ahead of our Premier League clash against Watford at Vicarage Road.
The manager provided updates on the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, and had good news on Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil.This is what he had to say:
on the latest team news…
I haven’t seen everybody, because some players are coming back today and some are in tomorrow, like Alexis. The minor problem we have is with Sead Kolasinac. We’ll check him today - he has a hip problem. We lost Mustafi for about four to six weeks and I don’t think he’ll be available before the next international break. Ozil and Welbeck are back in the group in normal training.
on if Koscielny could play at Watford…
Koscielny has a definite final test tomorrow. At the moment, he’s not available. He trained on his own and the first signs are positive, so we decided to give him a test tomorrow.
on whether he has defensive concerns given Mustafi and Koscielny issues…
Yes, I have. I think about sorting out the problem, but overall I will completely decide what I do tomorrow because Koscielny will have a test then. He worked quite hard physically, he looks like he is capable of playing if he survives the test. If he has no pain on his Achilles tendon, he can play. I will decide that tomorrow.
on Mustafi’s injury…
It’s always difficult to predict the situation because the player I least expected to lose during the break was Mustafi. First of all, I was not sure he would play. Secondly, Germany had already qualified so I didn’t expect him to be out injured as the games would be less intense. He didn’t play in the first game, and we lost him in the second game against Azerbaijan at home. We have to cope with that now.
on Sead Kolasinac…
He had a little hip problem but overall I haven’t seen him yet. I will make a check up this morning, but the news we have on him is quite positive.
on Mesut Ozil…
He was not available for Germany, but he is now available yes. He had a whole week training, he is maybe not completely back physically to his best but he is available. There is no problem anymore.
on Danny Welbeck…
He is available for selection again. He is a bit quicker than expected.
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