Arsene Wenger sweats on fitness of four Arsenal stars

Rosicky, Walcott, Wilshere and Ramsey all doubts for weekend trip to Sunderland…



Arsene Wenger faces a nervous wait to see whether a quartet of Arsenal players will be fit to face Sunderland at the weekend, reports the Independent.


The Gunners take on Paulo Di Canio’s struggling side at the Stadium of Light, but the Arsenal boss will be worried the international break has dented his chances of picking up the three points.

England duo Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere were both substituted in the drab 0-0 draw with Ukraine in Kiev on Tuesday evening, and will face a race against time to be fit for the weekend.

Wilshere left the pitch around the 65 minute mark after a subdued display, and England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted the youngster is not fully fit.

Walcott is a more pressing concern, after he was hacked down by Ukrainian battler Oleksandr Kucher. If these two don’t make the trip, Wenger will almost definitely start £42m record-signing Mesut Ozil, who enjoyed a tremendous individual display against a weak Faroe Islands team.

Elsewhere, Tomas Rosicky limped off during his side’s 2-1 defeat to Italy, and looked to be in considerable pain when receiving medical attention from the bench. Aaron Ramsey also will face a late fitness test following a difficult match against Serbia, where he captained his Welsh side to an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat.

To confide matters, Lukas Podolski is a long-term injury doubt, and new signing Yaya Sanogo has a back problem.
Wenger may now be wishing he strengthened his squad further during the summer months.