Mikel Arteta has suffered an injury setback and he will not play for Arsenal over the Christmas and new year period. The club captain damaged his calf in the Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund on 26 November and Arsène Wenger at that stage predicted an absence of between three and four weeks.
It was the third time Arteta had injured the calf muscle this season. The 32-year-old has now picked up a related ankle problem. “He had a little setback with an ankle problem but it should be very quick now” Wenger said. “He will not play before January.”
Wenger said that Aaron Ramsey, who damaged a hamstring at Galatasaray on 9 December, had a chance of being fit for the New Year’s Day visit to Southampton while Laurent Koscielny, who has battled a calf problem, together with chronic tendinitis in his achilles tendons, could, surprisingly, feature at West Ham United on Sunday. Mesut Özil remains on course to return from knee ligament damage in early January.
“The closest at the moment is Koscielny,” Wenger said. “I believe he is a bit short for Boxing Day [at home to Queens Park Rangers] ‚ maybe he has a chance for Sunday. Ramsey has a chance to be fit for Southampton.”
Wenger reported that Tomas Rosicky (thigh), Yaya Sanogo (emergency dentistry) and David Ospina (thigh) would be available against QPR while Héctor Bellerín (ankle) is a doubt, and he also talked about Theo Walcott, who is finally on the verge of playing, after missing virtually the whole of 2014 with cruciate knee ligament damage and, more latterly, a groin injury. Walcott was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday.
“Theo had only two days training with the team, I will see how he is this week,” Wenger said. “Fitness-wise, he is not far. It is more that he has basically not played since January, so it has been a year.
“He has been missed because, first of all, he is a top quality player, a team player and when he got injured, he was in fantastic form. Of course, he is a big miss for us. I think we will see the best of him. He is 25 years of age, it is the best age for a player of his quality. He is as quick as he was, believe me. I see it in training.”