When Mikel Arteta picked up an ankle injury in Arsenal’s away game at Besiktas, there were fears he might miss quite a few games. And I started to worry about the Arsenal injury crisis of last season coming back to plague us again, with Kieran Gibbs having picked up a knock in the previous game.
But maybe the new medial regime at the club is working, because having missed just two games, our Spanish captain is back in training as the pictures on the Arsenal website show. They also show Abou Diaby and I hope to see the Frenchman at some point today. Arteta should be fully fit because he has only been out for a week, but should Arsene Wenger bring him back into the starting XI for the trip to Leicester City?
It’s a tough one, because Flamini has done well and he has the energy and defensive mindset that could help us away from home. The problem for me is how we approach the game. Arsenal won more games on the road than any other in the Premier League last season and Leicester are newly promoted. So maybe we should try to take the game by the scruff of the neck and attack, in which case Arteta is the better option. And he is the captain, of course, and it is always good to have your captain on the pitch.
But I reckon the new boys will give it a real go tomorrow because that is how they play and if we are up against it early and go behind, it could be a hard day. Who would you go for in the middle?