Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger does not know when Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla are to return to action, with both players sustaining injuries during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norwich City in the English Premier League.
Sanchez has scored nine goals in 20 appearances in all competitions so far, while Cazorla has made the deep-lying playmaker role his own this season.
Wenger is also unsure when captain Mikel Arteta is to return from injury.
Photo: Reuters
“At the moment, on Alexis, Santi and Mikel, we do not know how long they will be out for,” Wenger told the club’s Web site.
The manager said striker Theo Walcott and defender Laurent Koscielny, who sustained a hip injury in Sunday’s game, could return for today’s clash against Sunderland.
Walcott was in fine form before he picked up a muscular injury in a loss to Sheffield Wednesday in late October.
“We will make a decision on Saturday on Koscielny and Walcott — they could both make the squad. [Kieran] Gibbs is available again for the weekend,” Wenger said.
Arsenal, who have not won in their last three games against Sunderland, are eyeing maximum points from what is to be a “massive” festive period, winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said.
The Gunners, who are fourth in the Premier League, kick-off their festive fixtures with a clash against leaders Manchester City on Dec. 21, then travel to the south coast to face Southampton, followed by games against relegation candidates AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
“I think it is going to be massive. It is always really important because the games come thick and fast, and if you have a good Christmas, it can really start your new year off well,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said.
“The table can really shuffle around because there are so many games in a short space of time, so it is very important. We are only two points off top spot, so it is vital to capitalize on this period, because I do think it is never easy for any side. There are always some teams that do slip up or have a few bad results in this period, so it is obviously much better to be one of the sides that comes out of Christmas in a positive way,” he added.
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
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