Arsenal: Injury update; Wenger distances himself from Payet move; Jenkinson to Palace latest

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Arsenal have received a quadruple injury boost ahead of Burnley’s visit to the Emirates Stadium this weekend. Hector Bellerin, Kieran Gibbs and Francis Coquelin will all rejoin the squad for this weekend’s fixture, while Olivier Giroud is also in contention after picking up an ankle knock against Swansea City. On the other hand, Theo Walcott is still out injured and won’t be available. Arsene Wenger went on to confirm that club captain Per Mertesacker was ‘two weeks away’ from being included in a match day squad.

The next few weeks are going to shape Arsenal’s aspirations and it is important that they get their injury problems under control. Although Burnley isn’t the most difficult of matches, as they have a poor away record, Arsenal will see this as a good opportunity to give minutes to some of the returning players. The difficulty for Wenger is going to be finding his best team as he has rarely had a fully fit squad to pick from and that could provide some selection problems for the Frenchman. Olivier Giroud has emerged as a key player in recent weeks and it will be interesting to see if he retains his place over the coming weeks.

Arsene Wenger has been discussing the transfer window in his pre-match press conference and he expects it to be a quiet period for Arsenal. One player that he was asked about directly was Dimitri Payet, as it increasingly likely that the Frenchman will leave West Ham this month. However, Wenger isn’t interested in a move for his fellow countryman, despite being a fan of the player.

“I rate Payet but I don’t need Payet because we have so many creative players,”

“We have many players who can play in this position.”

This isn’t the biggest surprise considering the strength that Arsenal have in the midfield positions. In addition to the players already at the club, Payet is slightly on the older side for an Arsenal signing. Wenger prefers to bring in young players that he can shape in Arsenal’s image and Payet would be a huge risk at this stage of his career. It would take a fee of above £25 million and his wage demands would also be high. Payet just wouldn’t be an Arsenal signing. The midfielder himself wants a return to Ligue 1, therefore it is relatively futile to discuss a possible move as it is a priority for neither party.

Meanwhile on the outgoings, the Mirror are reporting that Carl Jenkinson’s move to Crystal Palace has fallen through. The report states that neither a deal with Arsenal or personal terms were agreed, which has made it impossible for Palace to do a deal. The player himself wanted a move to link up with Sam Allardyce again, while the Palace manager will be disappointed that a deal wasn’t completed for the right back. The Eagles’ wage structure has proven to be a burden in this transfer window and it will be interesting to see how Allardyce reacts as he clearly believes that he needs new players to stay up.

A move could still happen for Jenkinson as a host of other clubs retain an interest, including West Ham, Watford, Hull City and Aston Villa. It is important that he gets a move for his own career, as it is unlikely that he has a future at the Emirates Stadium. He has been poor in his handful of appearances for the first team this season and it is obvious that he needs a move in order to continue his development as a player.

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