Thanks to the ever increasing power over football and the English Premier League in particular that the TV companies possess, Arsenal are due to play the first match of the new EPL season on a Friday night. This coming Friday we play host to Leicester City and with the way the fixture list has turned out we really need to get off to a good start, but Arsene Wenger has a few selection issues to sort out, not least of which surrounds our brilliant but often questioned playmaker Mesut Ozil.
It is clear that the German international is not fully fit or up to speed, as he was not even on the bench for Sunday’s Community Shield victory over Chelsea, and on Arsenal.com the boss explained what the problem was with Ozil and the other Gunners who were not involved.
Wenger said, “I left them all out because some are short of preparation like Alexis. Mesut got a kick on his ankle and it’s swollen so he couldn’t play. He couldn’t practise yesterday. We’ll see but he has a little chance of playing on Friday night. Aaron Ramsey has a chance of playing but I think he could be short as well with a small calf problem.”
Following on from the Foxes Arsenal’s next league game is the always tough trip to Stoke, before an even more difficult away game against Liverpool, so you can see why all three points against Leicester could be massive. The Foxes will be well drilled and up for it and in that sort of game it could take one bit of brilliance to break them down and make the difference.
We know that Ozil can be a frustrating player but we also know that he has that extra quality and so I would take the risk of playing him in this vital opening game, even if it means not having him for Stoke and Liverpool. Do you agree Gooners or do you think it is more important to make sure he is fully fit when he does play?
Bob.