Arsenal will be without defender Laurent Koscielny for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday, Arsene Wenger announced in his pre match press conference. He also announced that captain Mikel Arteta and midfielder Mathieu Flamini would miss the game, but Francis Coquelin is fit.
Wenger said the Koscielny has a a hamstring strain and will be out for about three weeks. Both Arteta and Flamini have both still not fully recovered from their previous injuries, despite Wenger saying the Frenchman would only be out for "a matter of days" after the game against Leicester last Saturday.
Wenger questioned over Opsina selection
Wenger refused to divulge anything, aside from the aforementioned injury news, about the team that will face Manchester United. When asked whether he would start Petr Cech or David Ospina on Sunday he responded with: "look, do you have another question?"
Goalkeepers were a main feature of the press conference, with Colombian David Ospina under scrutiny after his performance against Olympiacos on Tuesday. Wenger described both Ospina and Petr Cech as "world class", claiming that he made "the best decision" by playing him in mid week match, despite his own goal. In relation to his decision, Wenger was asked "When you sign a goalkeeper that improves your squad & you don't play him, do you understand fans' anger?", to which he responded "No. Not at all." Wenger also "questioned the knowledge of football" of the fans and pundits who saw Opsina as the reason that Arsenal lost the Olympiacos game.
Praise for Van Gaal but not for the media and transfer speculation
Sparks also flew when Wenger threatened to walk out of the press conference. When asked about the comments that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho made about him, Wenger said "stop this or we stop the press conference". Wenger was critical of the media saying they "lacked creativity" and had become "boring" in their line of questioning. He also said that it was "depressing" that no pundit analysed the loss against Olympiacos correctly.
Wenger thinks that Sunday's game is "even more special" than normal due to both teams' League position, Arsenal are just three points behind current League leaders United. Despite this, Wenger said that it is "difficult to say" who will win the title but that Louis Van Gaal's experience as a manager means it's "not surprising" that Manchester United are doing well. Wenger didn't comment on his experience, which he reached 19 years of with Arsenal this week, saying "one day I will look back" but now "isn't the time".
Wenger rubbished rumours that Arsenal were in for United's Anthony Martial, who has scored 4 goals since making his deadline switch to Old Trafford from French club Monaco. Wenger thought Monaco were "not selling" the youngster and that United paid "special money for him". Wenger also commented on United's Morgan Schneiderlin, who was a big target for Arsenal before he left Southampton. On whether Arsenal could have signed him, Wenger said "I have information I can not tell you."