Arsenal boss looking forward to having Spaniard back from injury
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he cannot wait to have Spaniard Mikel Arteta back from injury and has labelled him as the technical leader of the side.
Unfortunately for the vice-captain, he picked up a thigh injury just before the season started which has meant that he is yet to make a competitive appearance for the club in the 2013/2014 campaign, but he is set to make the squad for tomorrow’s game against Stoke City.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Wenger admitted that he is looking forward to having the player back in the team.
“We have no injuries from the Marseille game,” the boss told Arsenal Player. “The only player who could come back in the squad is Arteta, who comes back into full training today [Friday]. I’ll have to make the decision about him on tomorrow [Saturday] morning.
“He is very influential and he’s a leader – one of the leaders of the team and he’s a technical leader as well.
“We are happy to have him back as well because at the moment with the number of injuries we have, we are a bit short and we have plenty of games in front of us, so it’s good news.”
Wenger added: “I believe Arteta will get back into the team and they will all get their share of games,” he said.
“You calculate in a squad the maximum the players can play is 70 per cent of the games, so that is a lot of room for the other players as well.
“I think we have the right number and when everybody is back, there is competition for places.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
