Arsene Wenger is hoping that all of his players come back from international duty without injury although he might as well wish for world peace and a league and cup double this season.
Arsenal players seem to love nothing more than an international injury.
Mesut Ozil picked up a hamstring injury serious enough to keep him out against West Brom but won’t stop him playing for Germany.
Similarly with Alexis, his ankle was so bad it rendered him useless against West Brom in the second half before being substituted. He is expected to feature in both Chile’s games.
“You find confidence back by working hard. That makes you stronger,” Wenger said.
“Now, on top of that, the players go away so it will not be easy.
“They come back late and we have a big game at home.
“Hopefully we can prepare well and have no more injuries during the international break because we face Man City at home and it will be a very big game for us.
“It’s sad that we have lost this game because it would’ve been good [for the international players] to leave on a positive note.”
Press reports on Monday morning claim very strongly that the manager is set to sign a new deal. With Wenger saying he’s finally made a decision, most assumed he would be leaving after the result against West Brom.
Not so, a new one or two-year deal seems almost inevitable now.