Arsene Wenger has not always seen eye to eye with other managers of various national teams, such as the furore and frustration caused when Didier Deschamps over-played Abou Diaby when the injury prone midfielder had only just returned to club football after a long lay off.
But I think that the coach of Germany, Joachim Low, will definitely be near the top of Wenger´s Christmas card list this year, as he has just handed the Gunners a huge boost to our hopes of keeping the Premier League title challenge going strong.
With the Gunners already missing 10 players due to various injury problems, we are teetering on the brink of a crisis and really can not afford to lose any more, especially a key man like Mesut Ozil. So the news reported by The Mirror that he has not been selected for international duty this time is a massive relief. Low knows that the midfield star could do with a rest and the fact that there is no winter break in England has made his mind up.
The Germany manager said, “We start with the preparations for France now, and we will test a few formations.
“But I also have the players’ strain in my mind. The season is long and some foreign leagues are even without a mid-season break.
“That’s also the reason why I didn’t call up Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos this time. We want to test some alternatives on their positions.”
So as long as our King of the assists gets through the north London derby unscathed, he can put his feet up and that will be one thing less for Le Prof to worry about over the next two weeks.