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Arsene Wenger confirms duo will miss Arsenal’s clash with Basel

By on September 27, 2016

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Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Francis Coquelin will miss Arsenal’s Champions League clash with FC Basel on Wednesday night.

Coquelin limped out of our resounding victory over Chelsea at the weekend after suffering what appeared to be another serious knee injury during the first half.

It was feared the midfielder may have damaged ligaments which would have seen him facing several months on the sidelines but it looks like we’ve had some positive news.

Speaking at his press conference on Tuesday, Wenger confirmed that scan results show Coquelin’s injury isn’t serious and the Frenchman should only miss around three weeks.

It means that he’ll miss the Basel clash as well as upcoming games with Burnley and Swansea but he could make his comeback when we face Ludogorets on October 19th, which is a lot better than we were initially expecting.

Another player who’ll miss the Basel game is Olivier Giroud after Wenger revealed that the striker is still not fully recovered from the toe injury that he suffered against Paris Saint-Germain.

Giroud was actually sent off during the final minute of that game so would miss the Basel match through suspension anyway but Arsene says the striker is also a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Turf Moor.

Arsene told Arsenal.com:

on Coquelin’s injury…
He is out for the game tomorrow, but it should be a short-term injury because the scan was quite positive and I think it will be three weeks out.

on how he feels about the news…
It’s positive because last year during this period we got some bad news and a few long-term injuries and it was a handicap in our season. After you play always the same players and you lose a little bit of your edge physically. The fact is we have a compact squad, but of top quality, so to keep everybody together is a big plus.

on Giroud’s injury…
He is not available, he is suspended because he was sent off at PSG. He is a doubt for Sunday, we will see.

on if he will go on international duty…
I don’t know, it depends on the evolution of his injury.

I expect Xhaka to start in midfield with Coquelin sidelined and I’d love to see Elneny come in to start alongside the Swiss international with Cazorla given a well earned rest.

Giroud’s continued absence could see Sanchez once again lead the line up front while Ospina is set to come back in between the sticks with Cech dropping to the bench.

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