Arsenal have been playing with Mohamed Elneny in the back three on tour due to Holding and Chambers taking an extended break, and Gabriel was left in London having treatment. Then Laurent Koscielny sustained a back injury in training, leaving only Bielik, Monreal and Per Mertesacker as our only central defenders until the Big German went down with a bug before the Bayern Munich game.
But now Koscielny has announced that he ready to face Antonio Conte’s team, who we beat in the FA Cup Final in their last game. Laurent said: “My back is better,”
“I had a little pain one morning, so I had treatment over the past two days. Today I trained and was OK. Not 100 per cent, but I’m OK for playing. We will see tomorrow.
“We have worked well during this tour of Australia and China. We worked well physically, technically and tactically, and we have some friendly games to show what we’ve learned during our sessions.
“The game [against Chelsea] is for this and we want to win because a win here would give us the confidence we need to play with freedom. I hope all our players are focused on the new season because we need to play to win our first game.”
Having won 10 of last 11 games in the League, culminating in our FA Cup success, another win against the Premier League Champions can only confirm we are in confident mood for the start of the season, and we will have more chance with Koscielny back in the heart of the defence.
Come on you Gunners! Onwards and Upwards!
Admin