Alex Iwobi May Start For Arsenal In Europa League Clash Against CSKA Moscow
Arsenal will take on CSKA Moscow in a crucial Europa League first-leg clash on Thursday night at the Emirates. Arsene Wenger is faced with a first-team selection headache as a result of injury to some important players, especially in attack.
The Gunners manager has admitted that even though Alexandre Lacazette has returned back to full fitness, the Frenchman might not feature in the club’s clash against Ahmed Musa’ CSKA Moscow on Thursday night.
January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied and not eligible to play for Arsenal in the Europa League. which meant that Alexandre Lacazette would have been an automatic selection for the match.
Now though Arsene Wenger has raised concerns that the French International might not be fit to play the whole game on Thursday which in turn suggests that Lacazette might not be in the starting line up.
Wenger said: “Lacazette’s still lacking a bit of competitive edge. He’s been out for two months, he worked hard but he still lacks a fraction maybe.
“In training, he looks sharp. How long can he last in the game? I don’t know. He certainly needs one or two more games.
“Will he start on Thursday? I don’t know, I will have to wait a little bit.”
Danny Welbeck would have been the ideal replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the attack for Arsene Wenger but he too came off with a back injury on Sunday.
Alexandre Lacazette played for 30 minutes during Arsenal’s Premier League weekend clash against Stoke City and he also scored a late penalty. But the manager believes that his summer signing might not be 100 percent fit to start on Thursday.
This leaves Arsene Wenger with the option of drafting Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the starting line up against CSKA Moscow, although Iwobi has been criticised for his dismal displays this season by Arsenal fans, the coach has kept faith with him.
If Alex Iwobi gets to start on Thursday night against CSKA Moscow, it will be an excellent opportunity for the Nigerian to reward the coach for his confidence in him and at the same time silence his critics and stake a claim for more playing time.
