Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered another knee injury which rules him out of contention for Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 England squad.
Arsène Wenger confirmed the 22 year old had “no chance” of being fit having suffered a new problem which rules him out for six to eight weeks. “I only was informed yesterday,” said Wenger. “I had a conversation with Alex and our medical team told me that he will be back at the beginning of July.
“He was out for a while and in a way he was not overloaded with games. A guy of 22 you want him to go to the European Championships. It’s very sad. England have quite a few problems up front so I think it’s bad.”
With the Euros in mind, Wenger has still to decide how much action to give to Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla, who are both fit again after long term injuries. The Spanish midfielder appeared for the Arsenal under-21s on Tuesday.
Wenger is aiming for a win at Manchester City on Sunday to try to clinch an automatic Champions League spot for next season. Three points would guarantee a top three finish. While he has regrets that there is not even greater prizes at stake at the Etihad this weekend, he stresses that there are heavyweight implications.
“It is still an important game. Part of the responsibility of being professional is preparing the future and the future of Arsenal football club depends on this game. It is that big.”
Wenger has some sympathy for Manuel Pellegrini, whose position at the club was weakened over the second half of the season by the announcement that Pep Guardiola would be replacing him.
“I believe he has shown great dignity and great human qualities during his time here and I believe he is respected by everybody in the Premier League. Certainly by myself.”
Arsenal are three points ahead of City with an inferior goal difference and two games remaining to play. Wenger sent his compliments to champions Leicester.
"Congratulations to Claudio Ranieri and all the players," he said. "It's a remarkable achievement. Their success is based on team spirit. If you look at their results they lost only three games and that's remarkable looking at the quality of their competitors. It has also been done in an unusual way which gives us food for thought."
(Guardian service)
