Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news ahead of the Gunners’ game against Manchester City on Monday evening.
The main topic on hand was, of course, Alexis Sanchez. It was reported during the week that the Chilean has a slight chance of being fit – Wenger echoed those sentiments but was sceptical about whether he will genuinely feature or not.
We are quite far from the game but at the moment, everybody who played against Aston Villa is available for Monday night and there are one or two possible comebacks. Maybe there is a slight chance for Alexis to be in the squad again but it is too early to be sure about it.
The boss then revealed that Alexis is not yet in full training but has begun running and is keen to get back to action in the Premier League.
He is running but not participating in full training.
With the 26-year-old being a player who will do anything to get his time on the pitch, Wenger was quizzed as to whether he trusts the Chilean to be honest regarding his fitness.
I believe that is normal that he wants to play. You want him to be keen to play. He respects all the decisions I make and that is what I want from him.
It is not trust in a negative way. Some of them are so keen to forget that they have pain somewhere that they say they are alright when they are not. You know the players and their psychological profile, you take that into account, then you get scientific advice and you trust your gut as well and then you make a decision.
It’s a compliment. You want everybody to absolutely want to play. We have shown again recently with Olympiacos and with Villa that we have fantastic mentality in the team and that these players are something special on the human front. I hope that in the longer term, in the championship, that will come out. I’m sure [it will].
Being an expert in the field of physiotherapy and fitness, Wenger revealed that it is he who makes the decisions on who will play, not the players themselves – and certainly not Alexis in the current state he is in.
Yes, [I decide], because he says he’s always ready.
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