Olivier Giroud is back in contention for Arsenal’s game against Manchester United on Saturday, having recovered weeks ahead of schedule from the fractured tibia he suffered at Everton in August.
Arsène Wenger had ruled out Giroud until the new year but could now use him as a substitute against United at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal intend to bounce back from their wobbles before the international break. They threw away a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 at home to Anderlecht in the Champions League before they lost 2-1 at Swansea City in the league, having led 1-0.
Wenger also has Mikel Arteta available after the hamstring strain he picked up against Anderlecht but the prognosis is less encouraging with regard to Laurent Koscielny. The manager said two weeks ago the central defender would be out for three or four weeks because of tendinitis in his achilles heel.
Wenger feels it will be another three weeks before Koscielny can rejoin full training and there would then be a further period for him to recover fitness. Mathieu Debuchy, the right-back, who has been out since mid-September with ankle ligament damage, is on a similar comeback timetable.
“Giroud and Arteta are both available,” Wenger said. “It’s just a question of how ready they are but they are available. Giroud is weeks ahead of schedule. Originally we planned to have him back for competition at the beginning of next year. We have Giroud back, we have [Theo] Walcott back. Slowly, they will integrate into the team again and give us different options.
“Koscielny and Debuchy are doing well, they are out on the field again. We have to see now. Usually, field work is three weeks away from full group training. Then there is fitness. It looks straightforward for Debuchy. It’s not inflammation, it’s just repairing surgery. For Koscielny, it depends how well he responds to training. At the moment he looks good.”
Wenger will hope the in-form Alexis Sánchez recovers from his exploits on international duty with Chile. The striker scored in Friday’s 5-0 win over Venezuela and the 2-1 defeat to Uruguay on Wednesday, and on Thursday was on a 15-hour flight back to London.
Sánchez played for 85 minutes against Venezuela and completed the whole match against Uruguay. Both matches were friendlies.
Sánchez also played 90 minutes of Chile’s home friendlies against Peru and Bolivia during the October international break and he has not missed a minute of Arsenal’s six matches since then, in which he scored seven goals. He has 12 for the season at club level.