Arsene Wenger admits he could do with Jack Wilshere now

Arsene Wenger has chosen to rest influential attacker Alexis Sanchez in the third round FA Cup game at Preston North End tomorrow.

The match between Chelsea and Arsenal on February 4 is quite a while away, but it does look like it will be a very important game in the Premier League title race this season.

Much has changed since then, of course, but this could still be an intriguing match. How they fare on that stage may well decide whether they face Southampton later in the week; with Liverpool just 180 minutes from Wembley, it’s the League Cup that must take serious priority. Arsenal fans expect the team to be fighting for all the major trophies every year, but the team has consistently fallen well short of those expectations.

“We are not sure who is going to be in that team but whoever it is they will be global players. It’s not going as quickly as I imagined it, so certainly in January he will not come back”, Wenger said. While Manchester United and Chelsea could also make a move for Sanchez.

Arsenal – FA Cup winners 12 times, including in 2013-14 and 2014-15 – famously became known as “the Invincibles” after they went unbeaten in their triumphant 2003-04 Premier League campaign. “Because I have Rashford”, said Jose Mourinho this week, but the young Englishman now deserves to see those words being followed by actions. Diluted by the glory, the glitz and the glamour of the Premier League, there is not the same desire to win the oldest tournament in football.

“Alexis Sanchez is a committed player who wants to stay”.

Arsenal were useless against Bournemouth the other night.

One of those is Andrea Belotti of Torino, with the Italy global now enjoying a wonderful season in the Serie A, scoring 13 goals in 16 appearances to go with four assists as well.

I agree with him about our attacking options, especially now that Welbeck is nearly ready to help us. The second part of the championship starts now.

On a more positive note, Danny Welbeck is closing in on his return from injury.

Mesut Ozil returned to training on Thursday after missing the last two games with flu but the German worldwide won’t be rushed back tomorrow while Theo Walcott is still nursing a calf injury that’s kept him out for three games. “Before he was a little bit in the moon”.