Wenger Provides Latest Arsenal Injury Update

Arsenal suffered a triple injury blow following their one all draw against Norwich on Sunday’s lunch time kickoff, Arsene Wenger revealed after the game. Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny were both substituted after sustaining hamstring and hip injuries respectively although Sanchez had a light hamstring pull prior to the game; the injury seems to have escalated following his rigorous running on the pitch.

Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Wenger revealed that Santi Cazorla also suffered a knee problem in the second half but could not go off because the Gunners had already used their three substitutes. “We have three [injuries] because Cazorla played on one leg for the final part of the second half and he has a knee problem, Sanchez has a hamstring problem and Koscielny has a hip problem” explained the Arsenal manager. “How bad it is, I do not know, we have to see that tomorrow.”

Asked by Sky Sports on Sunday night if the amount of football Sanchez has played contributed to his injury, Wenger replied, “You could say that. At the moment on the striker front we have not much choice because [Danny] Welbeck is out, [Theo] Walcott is out, [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain is just coming back. Just because you repeat the games doesn’t mean you get injured, maybe the travelling to South America as well. I would have rested him today but he felt perfectly alright before the game and he declared that he had no problem.”

Sanchez has started 18 games in all competitions for Arsenal this season and been a second-half substitute in one. The 26-year-old played the full 90 minutes of last Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League win over Dynamo Zagreb, scoring twice and setting up the opener for Mesut Ozil. He has shown in recent weeks that he’s in need of a rest and Wenger will look to rest him after his return from injury, so he’s not expected to feature for the Gunners till the new year.