Arsène Wenger has said Theo Walcott could start his first match in 10 months at Swansea on Sunday but warned that it will take the English forward time to get back into the rhythm of top competition.
Walcott suffered a serious knee injury against Tottenham in January and made his first-team comeback last week at home to Burnley, coming off the bench with 10 minutes remaining.
“If I decide to start he can start,” said Wenger. “He’s available. He has been chosen and he needs competition. He has been out 10 months – people think it’s like a machine but these are human beings and to get back into the rhythm of top, top competition it takes time.
“He has been injured in an accidental tackle against Tottenham and you cannot plan that will never happen again. Every time you have a big injury there is a bigger chance of having the next one. He has been taken care of well but have to give him time to come back.”
Walcott has been included in England’s squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia and the friendly against Scotland and when pressed if he was happy for the 25-year-old to play in both games, Wenger replied: “Roy Hodgson can do what he wants.”
The Arsenal manager confirmed Jack Wilshere is available for the trip to Swansea after missing two games through illness and fully expects Sunday’s game to be a difficult encounter. “Swansea are exciting as always, stabilised in the Premier League, there have a way to play. When you go there you know that you face a tough opponent,” the Frenchman said.
Wenger also said he knows his players can improve following their Champions League collapse against Anderlecht on Tuesday but also questioned the role of fifth officials as Arsenal let a three-goal lead slip. The Belgian side secured one of their most memorable European nights in recent history as they came from 3-0 down to rescue a point in their Group D clash at the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger, who has long been a fan of technology in football, felt let down by the referee’s assistant behind Wojciech Szczesny’s goal for Anderlecht’s first goal, which was clearly offside, and believes Uefa need to find a better way of making sure the correct decisions are made on the pitch. The manager expressed dissatisfaction at the answers offered by the former Italian official Pierluigi Collina, who is now Uefa’s chief refereeing officer.
“We can learn a lot from what happened on Tuesday,” he said. “We have special incidents. Some things we can correct, like the second and third goals. But we cannot influence the first goal. When the goalscorers are one yard offside, we cannot influence that.
“Every time we go to Geneva, Collina explains to us that the fifth referee is a fantastic finding. But when you see the pictures on the first goal, it is unbelievable. A guy stands behind the line in front of the offside guy and does not stay a word.
“I do not know what the guys behind the line are paid for. That is a general feeling shared by everyone who watches football. They should buy a seat for them, and give them a good book!”