Midfield: Granit Xhaka was rested at the weekend but I expect he’ll be recalled tomorrow evening and should revive his partnership alongside Santi Cazorla after the Spaniard continued his impressive start to the new season with another goal on Saturday.
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It was deep into injury time and Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side were facing the ignominy of being booed from their Emirates pitch for the second time in this nascent Premier League season.
Speaking before the game to the Daily Mail, Keown claimed that Perez may have to bide his time in becoming a regular for Arsenal, with manager Arsene Wenger famously loyal to French striker Olivier Giroud.
Confirming the three approaches from PSG for his signature over the last few years, Wenger said it was his loyalty to Arsenal that kept him in the job.
He added: “I prefer it like this, playing them right from the outset”.
Arsenal’s European campaign begins on Tuesday with a Champions League game at Paris Saint-Germain.
For the last 16 years in succession PSG’s opponents Arsenal have reached the second stage of the competition, only to suffer the frustration of defeat in the first knockout round for six seasons in a row. “It is a relief, because we missed many chances and they had one or two opportunities having thrown everything forward”, Wenger told Sky Sports.
The Arsenal manager confirmed that the fact his eye is so swollen is the main issue, but supporters will be hoping that the swelling goes down and he gets to play his part in the capital of his homeland.
When asked if he expected such a difficult start to the season, Emery said soccer was a great game which needed a lot of hard work. We have some exceptions but the squad is between 24 and 30 basically and that is where you have a good combination of physical strength and experience. We had a bad start because we lost our first game to Dinamo Zagreb, and after we had a hiccup at home to Olympiakos. I think he’s one of the best in the world.
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The difference in recent years, however, is that the Frenchman has opted to stay at Arsenal even though many fans have become far more skeptical about his ability to lead the club to another Premier League title or a first Champions League.
