Arsenal’s forward, Theo Walcott was not be able to return in time for the Champions League match against Dortmund. Even if the young English international was expected to recover from his abdominal surgery in time to help his team through the current crucial series of matches, the 24 year old will take a bit more time to make his return to the pitch. According to the DailyMail, the Gunner will most likely be available before the match against Manchester United which is going to take place on the 10th of November.
Wenger could have used Walcott’s help especially considering the important matches that are about to take place in the next three weeks or so. Arsenal have to face Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Liverpool and Dortmund again before facing Manchester United on the 10th of November. The Chelsea match is part of the Capital One Cup (incidentally we will be helping our friends at FootballFancast.com do a live-blog of this match) which means that the Gunners have to win in order to go through the next round. Even if Wenger used his second team when playing in this domestic competition, it is hard to believe he will have the same success against an adversary like Chelsea. With the Gunners trophy-less streak close to a decade, the Frenchman will surely target this particular trophy which could be an easier target if they eliminate the Blues.
Arsenal’s boss is the one that gave Gunners the bad news regarding Walcott’s recovery. According to Wenger, the English international had to put a stop to his normal training session after suffering injury related problems. This is an unfortunate situation for the 24 year old as well not only for the Gunners. Because of his injury he might miss out on England’s friendly matches which will give Andros Townsend a good chance to prove himself once again and take Walcott’s place for the games to come.
Wenger also spoke about how his team should remain concentrated even if they are Premier League leaders. There is a long way to go until a trophy can be won and the Frenchman is well aware that things are not going to be easy and how the next run of games will give him a good sense of how good his team really is.