and Arsene Wenger has confirmed Danny Welbeck will miss the FA Cup final and England's forthcoming matches against Republic of Ireland and Slovenia.
The forward has been struggling with a knee injury and Wenger said last week that he would assess his fitness before the game against Aston Villa at Wembley. But his participation always looked unlikely and his absence will extend past the Euro 2016 qualifier in Ljubljana on June 14th.
“Danny Welbeck will not be fit for us or England. That’s basically the only injury we have at the moment,” said Wenger yesterday. “I was prepared for that. He didn’t train until Friday so I knew that he would be short for the FA Cup.
“When I last saw Roy Hodgson I was confident Welbeck would be available. We called the FA yesterday to explain his bone bruising of the knee has not healed and he had absolutely got to rest. I don’t know what Roy will say.”
The concern may be more pressing for Hodgson than for Wenger, who has not been able to call on Welbeck since April 26th. Since then, Theo Walcott has returned to match sharpness and his hat-trick from the centre-forward position against West Brom on Sunday made a strong case for his inclusion at Wembley.
Wenger would not be drawn on his team selection – although he said he was close to deciding his line-up – but he reiterated Walcott merits serious consideration in his preferred role. “He can do it on a regular basis for us, of course,” the Frenchman said.
“When he got injured it was playing as a central striker against Tottenham. It took him a while to get back to his full form and I think in the future he will be a central striker. He has shown he is back in good form but that’s normal. What is important is we do not make too many individual cases before the Cup final. It’s the whole team who can win it.”
Season of progress
Wenger said the FA Cup final presents an opportunity to rubber-stamp a season of progress in which Arsenal completed their Premier League schedule with a grip on third place. “We feel we have better stability,” he said. “We are more stable defensively than we were before and I think that’s a good basis to go from there.”
There was a note of caution about the threat of Aston Villa, and particularly the presence of Christian Benteke. The striker was still finding his way to full fitness after a long-term injury when the two teams last met – in a 5-0 victory for Arsenal on February 1st – and Wenger connected Villa's earlier struggles to his absence.
“He’s a player who has a massive potential,” he said. “I think some of the bad fortune of Aston Villa this season was linked with the fact that Benteke was not there. When he came back into the team, he gave a lift to everybody and of course he has a fantastic leap, he’s an intelligent player as well and he can score goals with his feet. He’s fantastic in the air and can score headers against any team in the league.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mathieu Debuchy have successfully completed their returns to full training but Wenger said they are “short of competition”.
Mario Balotelli’s agent has placed a potential obstacle in the way of Liverpool’s transfer plans by insisting the striker will not be leaving Anfield this summer, although the club remains determined to cut its losses on the Italy international.
The 24-year-old endured a miserable season on Merseyside following his £16 million (€22.5 million) arrival from Milan last August, starting only 14 games in all competitions, scoring four goals and being publicly criticised several times by his manager, Brendan Rodgers. The forward was also hindered by injury and illness and did not feature in any of Liverpool's last four match-day squads.
Balotelli
Liverpool
are prepared to take a substantial financial hit to offload Balotelli this summer. The former Manchester City striker earns a basic £80,000-a-week plus top-ups related to performance and behaviour, and has two years remaining on his three-year contract. The club have an option for a fourth year but it underlines his unsuitability to Rodgers’ system that they are keen for him to go after one.
Sampdoria have an interest in taking Balotelli back to Serie A with Liverpool determined to overhaul a strike-force that scored only eight league goals last season. But the striker’s agent, Mino Raiola, has claimed his client is not considering a move. “I have had talks with Liverpool and he will definitely stay,” said Raiola.
Rodgers criticised Balotelli’s work-rate and inability to adapt to the team’s demands several times last season, but Raiola says the problem has not been down to his client. “Mario did [adapt].
“I can’t talk for Brendan, that is a question for him, but Mario did and I spoke various times to the club and they were happy with Mario as a professional. I am confident it will happen next year.”
In a sign Rodgers retains the backing of Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owner, despite a dismal end to the season, the club are advancing with established plans for a new-look attack. Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke is a leading transfer target and Liverpool are expected to bid for the Belgium international after the FA Cup final. Divock Origi has already been signed from Lille for £9.8 million and Anfield is understood to be Danny Ings' preferred destination.
Meanwhile, Dick Advocaat has rejected the opportunity to become permanent head coach at Sunderland. The club confirmed the 67-year-old, who was drafted in in March for just nine games in which he was able to secure the club's Premier League status, would not be returning to Wearside.
– (Guardian Service)
