Leicester City: Three Arsenal stars could miss Premier League opener
Three Arsenal stars could miss the Premier League curtain raiser as Leicester City travel to the Emirates Stadium on Friday
Leicester City fans got a bit of good news on Monday morning as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that three of his stars could miss out on the Premier League’s opening match of the season against the Foxes.
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, and Aaron Ramsey all missed the Gunners’ dramatic victory over Chelsea Football Club in the Community Shield on Sunday for various reasons and could miss their first competitive match as well.
Ozil reportedly has a knock on his ankle that has caused some swelling and is the more likely to play of the three while Sanchez and Ramsey sat out because they are “short of preparation” according to Wenger.
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Sanchez had a busy summer as he participated in the Confederations Cup in Russia with Chile and Wenger likely wants to give him more time to rest ahead of a busy season.
Some have speculated that his absence is transfer related but nothing concrete has come out in that regard so we will have to take Wenger’s word for it.
He has done this in the past where he has described his players as unready for the rigors of the Premier League season after a summer of international competition but that is not the case for Ozil and Ramsey. Perhaps he simply wants to give his more senior players a bit more rest.
While Arsenal showed that they still have a winning edge without these three stars, it would surely be good news for Leicester City if they sat out, or even if its just one of the trio. It is already a tall task having to go in to the Emirates Stadium and come out with any points so any help would be well received by the Foxes and their supporters.
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The first six weeks of the Premier League season are a gauntlet for Leicester as they have to face Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United all before the end of September. If they are to avoid the nightmarish start that haunted them last season then a result against a possibly weakened Arsenal would be the perfect place to begin.