Laurent Koscielny is rated as doubtful for Arsenal’s home clash with Sunderland due to illness. Liam Bridcutt is ruled out for the Black Cats, though Jack Rodwell returns after a hamstring injury.
In his Tuesday pre-match press conference, Arsene Wenger confirmed that Laurent Koscielny is considered a doubt for tonight’s clash against the Wearsiders due to illness:
“We have an uncertainty about Laurent Koscielny that we will check today.”
The centre-half was then pictured in training later in the day, boosting his chances of making this evening’s match as the Gunners look for the win that would clinch third spot.
Wenger went on to admit that Mathieu Debuchy won’t be back in full training until Friday before conceding that he’s uncertain whether Danny Welbeck or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will prove their fitness in time for the upcoming FA Cup final on May 30:
“They are progressing well but they will not be available for Wednesday. I don’t know yet, let’s see how they all recover next week. Danny Welbeck is not available yet, he is not in full training, so I honestly don’t know. They all have to get fit very quickly now because there is not a long way to go [to the final]”.
Sunderland’s problems in central midfield are building ahead of the Emirates clash. Liam Bridcutt, who stood in for the injured Jordi Gomez at home to Leicester on Saturday, has been ruled out, though Jack Rodwell is back in contention after missing out recently with a hamstring problem.
Black Cats boss Dick Advocaat has hinted he may be ready to hand Adam Johnson his first start since the Dutchman’s arrival:
“He’s in the squad and when you are in the squad, there’s always a chance you will start.This team works so hard and you have to be fair to all of them, but Adam is a player who can do something different for us. His style is different from others – you saw that when he came on against Leicester.”
Advocaat also confirmed that Billy Jones has recovered from the knock that forced him off against the Foxes. With his first-choice right-back available, the Dutchman admitted that, although he won’t be parking the box tonight, his players need to be defensively aware:
“I still think we have to think about goal difference. I think we have to try to get a goal there [at Arsenal]. But we can’t give the game away 2-0, let’s put it like that. And certainly not like we did against Crystal Palace. We have to stay clever to the end. Arsenal have too much individual skill to do that (park the bus). But we have to try and make it as hard as possible for them defensively.”
