Joel Campbell has earned his chance in the Arsenal First XI by AT
Arsenal have been dealt yet another blow on the injury front as Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirmed that Alexis Sanchez has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. The news comes on the heels of Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck also suffering setbacks in their rehabilitation from their respective injuries.
Speaking after Arsenal’s win against City, Wenger said: “Sanchez I think will be back around the 10th of January. He has had a slight setback two days ago. We had planned to put him on the bench tonight.”
Now while I’m very disappointed to see that Alexis will miss at least the next three games, I cannot help but be happy for young Joel Campbell, who has grabbed his opportunity with both hands. In fact, the news of the Chilean’s setback is a lot easier to take for Arsenal fans given that Campbell has stepped up to the plate.
Now while he may be no Alexis Sanchez, the Costa Rican international has proved that he can come into the side and play his part. With incisive running and shrewd passing to go with relentless work-rate, the 23-year-old winger has established himself as a first-team player, even stepping ahead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the pecking order for the wide positions.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, Arsenal fans need not be too worried about Alexis’ injury setback. If we can beat City without him, then surely we can beat Southampton, Bournemouth and Newcastle as well. In addition, we have two in-form wingers in Joel Campbell and Theo Walcott who are hungry to fill the temporary void left by the former Barcelona man.
Anurag