My Arsenal Blog

A few days ago, I wrote an article on Arsenal boss Unai Emery promoting seven of the clubs most promising youngsters to first-team training. One of those youngsters is highly rated midfielder Gedion Zelalem.

It had slipped my mind that the youngster had in fact been out of action for a massive 16 months. The midfielder sustained a cruciate ligament injury back in an underage tournament playing for the USA under-20 team in May 2017.

Injury has hampered his development

Prior to the injury, Zelalem was regarded as one of the hottest young prospects at the north London club. In fact, the German-born star first burst onto the scene for the Gunners in 2013 as a 16-year-old on their tour of Asia.  .......Read more here.....

According to the BBC, Arsenal’s Bosnia and Herzegovina full-back Sead Kolasinac will miss the first eight-ten weeks of the Premier League season through injury. The former Schalke star sustained the knee injury in the Gunners International Champions Cup clash with Chelsea on Wednesday.

The estimated timescale would see the Bosnian missed eight top-flight matches, two Europa League games and the third round of the League Cup. The news is a blow to the player and Gunners boss Unai Emery, who now has a dilemma on the left-hand side of his defence.  .......Read more here.....

According to Sky Sports, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil is struggling to be fit for Germany’s World Cup opener on June 17^th against Mexico after picking up a knee injury in a friendly game against Austria last weekend.

The attacking midfielder scored in the 2-1 win over their neighbours. However, he was substituted on 76 minutes. Ozil has been training away from his Die Mannschaft teammates and missed Tuesday media day.

Reportedly, the 29-year-old is also still suffering from a long-standing back problem that saw him miss games for Arsenal last season.  .......Read more here.....

Arsene Wenger has provided updates regarding the availability of several players for the the game at the Emirates against Southampton on Sunday.

It seems Henrikh Mkhitaryan might be out for a long time. The Armenian was subbed off after an hour of the Europe League game against CSKA Moscow on Thursday, and the manager says there might be damage to his medial knee ligament. Therefore, it’s impossible to say at this point how long his absence will last, but more will be revealed soon. Let’s hope the fear is proven needless.  .......Read more here.....

Aaron Ramsey, Alexandre Lacazette and Jack Wilshere are all in a battle against time in order to be fit for the clash with Stoke City on Sunday, according to The Sentinel.

Both Ramsey and Lacazette have returned to full training and are likely to make the cut, and the club are hopeful they will be joined by Wilshere.  .......Read more here.....

Jack Wilshere has been left out of the England squad for the upcoming friendly fixture against Holland that is being played on Friday, the Mirror have reported.

After he had recalled the midfielder to the national team, Gareth Southgate was forced to take him out again due to a knee problem. Explaining the situation, the England manager said Wilshere felt some tendinopathy in his knee, though not too serious. He and his staff are hoping the Arsenal man will be available to face Italy on Tuesday. He also explained that the problem is something Wilshere has been managing for a long time, not anything new to him, but he also stressed that he had trained well during the week.  .......Read more here.....

Much to Arsenal fans’ disappointment, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Premier League debut is likely to be pushed to a further date after Arsene Wenger revealed that the former Borussia Dortmund superstar is slightly under the weather.

The Gunners boss said the £56 million Gabonese forward has been struggling with illness after completing his move to London this week.

“Aubameyang, I have to assess how well he is physically today and how well he feels. He had a fever so he could not practice a lot – he started yesterday, was still not completely well. I have to assess with the medical department how fit he can be.”, Wenger told in a press conference.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal were forced to grind out a 1-0 win over Burnley in Sunday’s Premier League meeting, with Alexis Sanchez converting a penalty in the closing stages. The win was one that displayed Arsenal’s backbone, and they were able to achieve it without the presence of German Mesut Ozil.

It was not the prettiest of wins, but Arsenal backed up their victory over Tottenham last Saturday with a win over Burnley this Sunday. While some might turn their noses up at the triumph, beating Burnley at Turf Moor should not be underestimated, with Sean Dyche’s men sitting in seventh this campaign.  .......Read more here.....

With these words coming directly from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger it’s hard not to feel sorry for the Spanish midfielder.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger met the members of the press this Thursday to discuss the Saturday’s highly-anticipated North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur and one of the subjects he touched during his presser was also Santi Cazorla’s injury.

The 32-year-old Spanish midfielder has not featured since October 2016 after injuring his right Achilles tendon during a Champions League match against Ludogorets.  .......Read more here.....

According to the London Standard, Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck could make his return from injury against Tottenham in the north London derby on Saturday lunchtime.

The forward has been sidelined since mid-October with a hamstring injury. The problem has meant that the 26-year-missed out on the England squad for friendly international games against Germany and Brazil.

In-favour at the start of the campaign

Danny Welbeck has not always been a regular starter in Arsenal’s first-team since arriving from Manchester United back in 2014. He has been in and out of the Gunners starting line-up.  .......Read more here.....