Arsenal sweat on Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injuries ahead of FA Cup final
Sanchez limped out of Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Everton after suffering a thigh injury
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal go into Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea sweating on the fitness of star Alexis Sanchez, though Arsene Wenger is hoping to have the Chilean available despite suffering a thigh injury last week.
Sanchez limped off the field during Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Everton that ended their Premier League campaign on Sunday, with Wenger admitting afterwards that he was unsure if Sanchez would recover in time for the Wembley final this Saturday.
Sanchez is one of a number of injury concerns that Wenger is having to manage, with a defensive crisis striking his side in what it the most important week of their season. Beat Chelsea and Arsenal can consider their season something of a success, despite missing out on the top four and next season’s Champions League.
The prospect of beating the newly-crowned Premier League champions appears increasingly unlikely, given Arsenal will be without regular captain Laurent Koscielny after he was sent-off against Everton, earning himself a three-match ban in the process. Once the Football Association confirmed that the club’s appeal against his sending-off had failed, Wenger was left to try and piece together his defence which could yet see the Frenchman revert to a back four, despite the successful experiment with a back-three.
As well as Koscielny being unavailable, Wenger is without Gabriel Paulista after the centre-back damaged his medial knee ligament during the same match, which will keep him out of action until August at the earliest.
In midfield, Wenger is unsure if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will recover from his latest setback in time to feature, with the England international struggling with a hamstring injury. Wenger is optimistic that he will be able to play a part in the match given it will free up the options that he has with a severely limited squad.
Arsenal squad: Cech, Ospina, Martinez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Bellerin, Holding, Mustafi, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott, Iwobi, Sanchez, Perez, Welbeck, Giroud.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments