Wenger on Latest Injuries: Fabregas, Djourou & Nasri

Johan Djourou

Arsenal were able to beat Manchester United without Cesc Fabregas, whose stand in, Aaron Ramsey grabbed the winning goal at the Emirates. One Arsenal fan tweeted me before kick-off telling me of Fabregas' absence and how Arsenal's chances of winning the game without him were lowered even further, however, Arsenal proved their fans wrong, and won without their captain. Wenger said of Fabregas' injury:

"Cesc has got a kick on his thigh that has disrupted some fibres. We’ll know on Tuesday if he can practice again. He had a test yesterday that he couldn’t get through. He has a chance to play on Sunday."

Meanwhile, Samir Nasri's injury was confirmed as a hamstring one, but Wenger does not know how serious it is:

"Samir has a hamstring problem, a small one I think."

Johan Djourou was replaces by Sebastian Squillaci in the second half, and again, Wenger will wait for tomorrow for further news, but the Swiss international has suffered an ankle injury:

"Djourou an ankle problem" 

Another area in which Wenger is quite vague about is Arsenal's title chances. It is the general feeling that the title will now either go to Manchester United or Chelsea, but an important win today has perhaps given Arsenal a better outside chance. Wenger feels Arsenal's luck has been very poor this season, and hopes that their fortunes will turn around in the last few games, starting from this win against United:

“If you look at the two points against Liverpool or Bolton in the last second it is frustrating but as well it was very close this season, and it’s not over, maybe."

“We were so unlucky since February but maybe we’ll be a bit more lucky in the last three games."

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Johan Djourou Back in Under Two weeks

Johan Djourou

The initial diagnosis to Johan Djourou's unfortunate shoulder injury suffered against Manchester United in the FA Cup was that he would be out for the rest of the season. Groans echoed around the Emirates stadium, coming from frustrated Arsenal fans who had already had to suffer without Thomas Vermaelen for the majority of the season. The news about his injury however, began to get better and better, and today it has been reported that the Swiss defender may be back for April 17th - in time for Arsenal's Premier League clash with Liverpool.

The 24 year old injured his shoulder in a collision with Bacary Sagna, his Arsenal team mate during the United clash on 12th March. The news emerged that reconstructive surgery n the players shoulder was not needed and only a period of rehabilitation was required to see his shoulder recover. It was predicted on the 22nd March that Djourou would be back in training inaround a month, so the news that he could be back in just under two weeks is quite surprising - but encouraging for Arsenal.

He had to be  stretchered off and was in a considrable amount of pain, but he is sid the be "eyeing" the Liverpool fixture with anicipation for his return.

Meanwhile, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was involved in a car accident on his way to training on Monday morning. It was a minor accident, and no-one was hurt, with neither part requiring hospital treatment.
An Arsenal club spokesman confirmed:

"Cesc was involved in a minor car accident on his way to training this morning.

"After the incident, Cesc made his way to our training ground in London Colney and took part in a training session as normal.

"The Police are fully aware of the incident."

So after a disappointng, unpenetrative performance against Blackburn which saw Wenger's side draw a blank and walk away with a solitary point, and fall further behind United in the title race, thee is some good news on the injury front for once.

Arsenal >> Johan Djourou Profile

Johan Djourou

BBC Football | Barclays Premier League | Johan Djourou | Arsenal Football Club | Biography | Player Profile and Career | Centre Back | Switzerland National Team

Johan Djourou Arsenal Centre Back

Johan Djourou Profile
Name : Johan Danon Djourou-Gbadjere.
Place/Date of birth : Côte d'Ivoire, 18 January 1987.
Height : 1.92 m.
Player Position : Centre Back.
Football team : Arsenal.
Number  : 20.

Career :
Youth
1998–2002 : Étoile Carouge.
2002–2004 : Arsenal.
Senior
2004– ... : Arsenal(Barclays Premier League-English Football).
2007-2008 : Birmingham City(loan).

National team
2005-2006 : Switzerland U20.
2006–2007 : Switzerland U21.
2007- ... : Switzerland.

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Season Over for Vermaelen But Djourou Has a Chance

Johan Djourou

Arsenal's increasingly disheartened manager Arsene Wenger confirmed some more bad news today in relation to  Thomas Vermaelen. Wenger said at his pre match press conference:

“For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over."

“In fairness he has not played since September, I never expected him to be fit before the end of the season. He is not out on the field yet and it is impossible [for him to play] after six months without competition. I am confident he will have a full recovery but for this season we cannot rely on him.”

Considering how long Arsenal have had to cope without the Belgian centre back this season after he suffered an Achilles injury on international duty, the news won't be as big a blow.

Wenger also set the record straight about Johan Djourou's injury. The Swiss defender dislocated his shoulder in Arsenals FA Cup loss to Manchester United and was immediately ruled out for the rest of the season. However, under closer inspection by he Swiss FA, it has emerged that Djourou has a chance of playing his part in the final run of games but will be out for six weeks. Wenger said:

“Johan Djourou is out for at least six weeks. There’s a little chance [he will play again this season], he has an arthroscopy on Monday and we will know more about the damage in his shoulder. We hope we will have good news but no matter what happens he will be out for six weeks.”

The International break next week will be a good time for players to recover from injuries they have picked up during the recent tough run of closely arranged fixtures, with Cesc Fabregas hoping to benefit. The Spaniard will be missing for the week end game, but Wenger hopes he will have recovered by the time the International games are over. Walcott holds little chance of recovery any time soon and will certainly miss England's games in the week:

“Cesc Fabregas is out for the game on Saturday. He should be back after the international break, maybe, he has a chance, but he is not available for the weekend. Walcott is not available for the weekend and he has no chance [for the international break]. He is not available for England.”

Yet More Injury Woe For Arsenal

Johan Djourou

Saturday's semi-final between Manchester United and Arsenal saw the return of both Antonio Valencia and Aaron Ramsey from their horrific injuries. But after one injury recovery, another injury was inflicted to an Arsenal player. Johan Djourou, who has been great in defence for Arsenal this season, had his arm ripped out of his socket in an awkward collision with Bacary Sagna late on in the match.

The Switzerland international will now miss the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder, Wenger confirmed:

"We have lost Djourou now for the rest of the season and it will be difficult for us. It is a dislocated shoulder"

Wenger also wasn't happy with the way in which his team have gone out of three competitions in just a fortnight. The only silverware that Arsenal can now win is the Premier League, which Manchester United currently hold pole position for. Wenger believes it can still be won:

"I believe that we can do it but it’s a good test for us now to show that we can regroup.


"I am very disappointed that we lost three big challenges in a very strange way. One was in the last minute to a goal that came from nowhere [Carling Cup], one was under strange circumstances in Barcelona and now this. We weren’t outplayed but we were punished by a team that was more clinical than us."

Wenger is in an extremely unfortunate position. He has an incredibly tough job to pick up his players and force them to push for the Premier League title. A few weeks ago, Arsenal fans were tentatively talking about a quadruple, but now, they have just one aim; to win the league. Losing in the late stages of three major competitions in the space of two weeks is crushing for players and teams, and when they come one after the other, it must seem like one blow after the other. Add to that the injury list that has been relentlessly added to over the season, and moral must be pretty low.

The late stages of the season are when teams need all the positivity possible, but positivity is not an element radiating from the Emirates right at this moment.

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Arsenal Accused, Djourou Ashamed & Fabregas Out

Johan Djourou

Arsenal have had a rough week. If being well beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League wasn't enough to darken the mood around the Emirates, seeing rivals Tottenham progress a stage further really rubbed salt in the wounds. The amount of competitions Arsenal are now involved in has been halved in the space of a few weeks, and with Manchester United just around the corner in another winnable competition - the FA Cup, the next game will be massive for the season.

Manuel Almunia was one of only a few players who had a good game against Barcelona on Tuesday after he came on in the 19th minute for the injured Sczcesny, and from his busy goal, he watched his team mates closely. Like many others, he wasn't impressed. The Spaniard accused his team mates of lacking effort, and believed that if they did more and showed more fight in the game, they may have been able to snatch a win.

"Barcelona bossed us and in the second half we had players that were not running. We only needed one goal and with a bit more effort we could have caused them damage at the end.


"Even at 3-1, we only needed one goal and, well, you can't understand how there can be players that were walking. We were tired.


"It seemed that everything was lost but you can score a goal at any moment. So the only explanation I have is that we were so tired and the players couldn't give any more.


"And down to 10 men, it was double the effort. We came up against a Barcelona side that are the best in the world."

Almunia can't be blamed for his light criticism of the team - the now infamous statistic of a total of zero shots on goal will be and as been brought up by rival fans for years to come and Barcelona's domination in every area of the pitch was clear for all to see.

The match however did not come without it's controversies - the referee's decision to send van Persie off for shooting at goal after the whistle had been blown for offside the big talking point. Massimo Busacca, the referee in question, was called many things after the game, but his Swiss compatriot Johan Djourou even went so far as to claim a sense of shame:

 "I am Swiss and the referee was Swiss. I feel a sense of shame.

"He had no right to take a decision of that kind. It changed the course of the game. At this level of football you can not accept decisions like that.


"But you have to be honest and admit Barcelona deserved their win. Lionel Messi is an exceptional footballer, all the more so when he plays at home, and he does some amazing things.


"It is really hard to mark him. We succeeded in the first half. We were very compact and it was a real pity that we conceded just before the break."

Arsenal's next game will not be as hard as the last - that is for sure, especially in United's current form. United have lost their last two games against Chelsea and Liverpool, and in the absence of Nani after his deep cut on the shin, Arsenal will be hoping to make United's losing streak a miserable hat trick.

Arsenal will be without Fabregas however, after his suspect performance at Barcelona was explained by a recurring hamstring injury, as Wenger said:

"He will be out maybe for the next two games"

Sczcesny's injury - a dislocated finger - will also rule him out for the immediate future, and Almunia will fill in for him for the game against Manchester United. Robin van Persie will be available too, as he went off - admittedly in questionable fashion - but without an injury.

Time for a trophy for Arsenal, and time for a win against a big team. The victor in the weekends game will - I believe - go on to win the Premier League. It's going to be massive.

Wenger: Van Persie, Diaby and Koscielny Out Injured

Johan Djourou

Arsene Wenger confirmed that Robin Van Persie, Abou Diaby and Laurent Koscielny will all be out of Arsenal's next game against Stoke City with injuries, although Diaby wold have missed the game with suspension anyway. Arsenal host Stoke on Wednesday, but Wenger is positive that the trio will all be fit for Sunday's Carling Cup final clash against Birmingham where Arsenal have the chance to win some overdue silverware.

Wenger said:

"We don't have Van Persie, Diaby and Koscielny available."

"Everybody else is fit. Diaby is suspended. Van Persie has a hamstring problem and Koscielny a back problem."

"Both are short term and they have a chance for the game on Sunday"

Johan Djourou has been in very good form this season, making up for the absence of Thomas Vermaelen alongside Koscielny in the centre of defence, and Wenger will welcome the Swiss back into the side after missing the F.A Cup draw against Leyton Orient.
The Arsenal manager said:

"Johan Djourou is better and will play."

The replay with Leyton Orient in the Cup isn't going to help, as although Arsenal are favourites to win, it is another long 90 minutes and risks injuries or fatigue that they will not want in the lead up the back end of the season, as well as a second leg with Barcelona at the Nou Camp awaiting them.

Wenger on Twitter

Johan Djourou

In 2010, it was found that the number of Twitter users increases by 300,000 a day and a massive 55 million tweets are tweeted every day. A number of Arsenal players have contributed to those massive figures too, with Jack Wilshere only last week criticizing a referee decision after the Gunner's draw at Newcastle.

At the moment, Cesc Fabregas, Denilson, Jack Wilshere, Johan Djourou, Wojciech Szczesny, and Sebastien Squillaci are among those big name Arsenal players who pour their thoughts onto the social networking site. So naturally, it is of interest to their manager, Arsene Wenger to know what the Internet phenomenon is all about to keep his players in check - making sure that they don't deliver any controversial messages and get themselves into trouble.

The Arsenal manager had this to say about Twitter:

"I don't believe you can stop the players using it because everyone has the freedom to press his point.”

“You want it to be intelligent in a good way, in a positive way. The players can get closer to the fans and that is one of the positive aspects of it.

“But let the referee do his job and let us make sure that we are 100 per cent right with our attitude and behaviour.”

“We do not want to get involved in referee's decisions, we want to take care of our attitude and behaviour.

“No matter what kind of decisions we had on Saturday we could have won the game and that is what we want to take care of.”

So it seems that Wenger won't be dusting off his keyboard any time soon to sign up for Twitter, and will leave the informing of fans up to his players - just as long as they don't insult the referees. Someone the Arsenal manager doesn't need to worry about is Theo Walcott, who expressed his confusion at the concept:

"I don't tweet myself, I really don't have a clue what it's all about. It doesn't really interest me."

Arsenal Injury Update: Djourou, Vermaelen, Nasri & Song

Johan Djourou

There is yet more woe for Arsenal on the injury front. The Barcelona game in the Champions League is fast approaching, and Arsenal are facing an uphill battle to field a strong enough team who could challenge the goal hungry Catalans.

Facing Barcelona is a match that can border on impossible to win at the best of times. With a front line that strikes fear into even the strongest defence in the land, and a defence that can drive out some of the most potent attackers around, when you play Barcelona with the objective of winning, you need a strong team.

Losing a four goal lead away to Newcastle on Saturday isn't going to inspire confidence into the Arsenal side, and at the same time, the poor result certainly won't see the Barcelona team quaking in their boots. It is made worse then, that some of Arsenal's brightest players this season look likely to miss the first leg on the 16th February.

The injury list is as follows: Samir Nasri, Lukasz Fabianski, Alex Song, Thomas Vermaelen and now Johan Djourou.

Johan Djourou was taken off in the eight goal thriller at Newcastle on the week end, and was feared may be out for the rest of the season with damage to his knee ligaments. However, it has since been confirmed that he has not suffered a serious injury, but bruising to the knee. The Swiss national doctor confirmed that Djourou could be back in training very soon: "Djourou is probably less than one week away of beginning training" - very good news for Arsenal fans.

Samir Nasri will return in around three weeks after suffering a hamstring strain last week which certainly rules him out of the Barca game.

Thomas Vermaelen has been out since early September but Arsene Wenger can now see the finishing line for his Belgian centre back. "Thomas Vermaelen is making very good progress so he should be [back in] three to four more weeks,” said the manager on February 3rd, which again, rules him out of the Barca game.

Lukasz Fabianski, the Polish goalkeeper has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The Polish goalkeeper has been sidelined since early January with a shoulder injury and he is about to undergo surgery to cure the problem.

Alex Song's injury isn't as serious as the above, and will most probably be back for the 16th, as he only suffered a kick, but the injuries above still highlight the problem that will face Wenger when the time comes for him to pick the defence against Barcelona.

In the immediate future however, Arsenal will be hosting Wolves at the Emirates, and it is Wolves who have all of the momentum. After ending Manchester United's 29 game Premier League unbeaten run, the players in orange will be on an almighty high as they continue in the fierce relegation scrap. Arsenal meanwhile will be deflated after their astonishing  breakdown at St James Park. They will be without Abou Diaby due to his sending off in that game, and, of course, the casualties will be missing.