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Wenger Press Conference Update
Arsene Wenger gave his press conference ahead of the clash away at Liverpool in the EPL this week, giving us a few updates regarding the progress of the squad and a look ahead to the busy festive period.
Injury
As reported previously we still have a long list of injuries that are depleting the squad, but we got a bit more in depth news from the boss.
Wenger said that:
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On General Team that Oxlade Chamberlain and Monreal could well be back, with The Ox having more chance than the defender at actually starting the match. Monreal is hoping to be fit whereas Oxlade is expected to be declared fit in a test later today.
Walcott is only tentatively holding out hope for being fit, and after such a long injury rushing back is unlikely as he has only been in training for a day.
Ospina is back in full training, with Rosicky hoping to be back for the rest of the Christmas period.
As for the others on the injury list they are progressing as planned and will be back in the time frames previously stated.
History
Regarding the previous importance of the clash regarding the outcome of the Premier League title Wenger was appreciative of the history of the fixture but was not going to let himself get bogged down by it.
“Yes, there might be a few nerves but our job is not about history, it’s about today.” Wenger puts it quite nicely I think, as at the end of the day it’s about what happens in the 90 minutes at Anfield on Sunday and not about what has happened before in years gone by…maybe someone should remind Liverpool fans that History is nowhere near as important as how your club are doing now?
Previous matches
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Well if we take the last Liverpool v Arsenal match it’s not pretty reading for Arsenal fans, remembering the blitz of goals that were scored against us in the fist half as our defence was torn to shreds by Suarez and Sturridge. Thankfully those two are not available and it’s an entirely different Liverpool side that we will face on Sunday.
Liverpool are currently languishing in the EPL, sitting 11th in the league without looking at all like the team they were last season. Their new signings have failed to impress and their older players look completely lost.
Liverpool however have only won 4 matches in the last 10 EPL games, against Leicester, Stoke, QPR and West Brom. Even in those matches they looked to struggle, and in the other matches they never looked like they were going to win.
Last week against United they gave a lot of effort but Sterling missed a host of chances and they looked second best the entire time. Arsenal and Wenger will hope they can copy the confidence of Manchester United and dominate the ball but playing Liverpool at Anfield is never a given, Arsenal will have to play well in this 90 minutes and not worry about what has happened before.
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