Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 7y

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin may face Stoke, Santi Cazorla doing well

LONDON -- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says right-back Hector Bellerin could make his return from an ankle injury against Stoke City on Saturday, while midfielder Santi Cazorla is recovering well from his foot surgery.

Bellerin has been sidelined since Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur a month ago but has been back in light training this week. Wenger said Bellerin "faces a team test today" but is in contention to play against Stoke.

Cazorla underwent surgery in Sweden this week after failing to recover from an inflamed tendon in his heel, with the midfielder set to be out at least two months. The Spaniard posted a photo from his hospital bed on social media after the procedure, saying it "was perfect."

Wenger said at his news conference on Thursday that it was hard for him to describe any surgery to a player as "perfect" but that "you can say it was needed and it went well."

Surgery done! It was perfect! Looking forward to be back at the #emiratesstadium with you! @arsenal

A photo posted by Santi Cazorla (@santicazorla) on

He added: "Afterwards you have to see how he recovers from that. I'm positive that he will recover from it very quickly, but once you open your body in top-level sport it means that you can only play at least two months later, if all goes well."

Wenger said there were no new injuries from the 4-1 win over Basel on Tuesday that clinched first place in their Champions League group.

That made it nine goals in their last two games for the Gunners after a 5-1 win at West Ham, and Wenger is keen to see his team replicate that form at home.

"We are playing well but we have plenty of room for improvement," Wenger said. "I feel the team is on the way upwards but we have as well to show that first of all we can improve, that we have the desire to improve as a team, and as well, that we can repeat the performances week in, week out.

"Stoke is another challenge for us that we can reset, refocus and continue our development and take the points. ... It's true that we have scored more goals away from home than at home and we want to transfer that to our home games as well."

The Gunners are second in the Premier League standings, three points behind Chelsea, and managed to win their Champions League group for the first time in five years, which may boost their chances of a first quarterfinal appearance since 2010.

However, the Gunners still face a nervous draw on Monday as they could come up against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who both finished second in their groups.

Arsenal have come up against Bayern or Barcelona in four of the last six years, and Wenger smiled when he asked if his team were due a bit of luck in the draw.

"I don't know who decides the luck but I haven't found the way to speak to this person," he said, adding that he will not watch the draw live as it will be held during a training session. "I prefer to be on the pitch than being nervous in front of the television."

But even if Arsenal were to get one of the European giants as their opponent, Wenger said they will look forward to the challenge.

"You look at the teams you can get, some look more prestigious, more difficult, and you would like me to say 'I do not want this or that,' but that will already put us in an inferior position if it happens," he said. "Yes, you can take Real Madrid as maybe a favourite to win, because they are the holders of the competition. But even against Real Madrid, we'll have a chance to qualify and we'll have to do the absolute maximum to achieve that.

"It's another inconvenient fact for us that we haven't qualified for the quarterfinal for six years. That will be a huge challenge for my group but I'm sure we will relish that."

^ Back to Top ^