Arsene Wenger and Arsenal will be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the Boxing Day clash against West Brom. The Gunners will be hoping to get back to winning ways after consecutive defeats in the Premier League for just the second time in two years (via Arsenal.com).
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Matchday: Match Preview – Team News – Betting Preview
Match: Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion
Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Kick-Off (GMT): Mon 26 Dec 15:00
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With the tension building and the busy run of matches, Premier League managers are hardly the most festive around the Christmas period. Arsene Wenger was no different this morning as he gave his regular pre-match press conference ahead of next Monday’s clash with West Brom.
The Gunners play at the Emirates for the first time in two weeks and will want to get back to winning ways after consecutive defeats. Arsene Wenger knows this better than anybody and gave mixed news on the injury front when asked about his team news for the clash with the Baggies.
“I think for Monday we lose Chamberlain from the last game against City,” Wenger confirmed. It’s actually pretty good news considering the fact that early reports indicated that The Ox would be out for much longer. It was feared that the 23-year-old could miss upwards of six weeks with a hamstring strain but Wenger assured fans that that will not be the case.
“It’s not very bad,” he went on. “It’s a question of days rather than weeks.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain will have some company in the physio room with Aaron Ramsey and Shkodran Mustafi on the sidelines for the Gunners. While it’s good news for the Welshman, Wenger confirmed that Mustafi will still miss the next few weeks.
“I don’t know if Ramsey will be involved or not but he will be back in full training today”, Wenger went on. “He has played maybe two games since the start of the season, but let’s not be too premature. He’s had some setbacks and I hope this time he will be alright.”
“Mustafi is still out until the beginning of January.”
The loss of Shkodran Mustafi seems to be affecting Arsenal dearly. The German still hasn’t lost a game for the Gunners but the team has won just one of the five Premier League matches he’s missed. Hopefully the returning players – including Per Mertesacker – will come back fit and ready to play their parts in the remainder of the season.