Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey will be available for Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Sunderland on Saturday.
Giroud has finally overcome a long-term toe problem, while midfielder Ramsey will feature for the first time since the opening day of the season after hamstring trouble.
Manager, Arsene Wenger, however, prefers to be cautious.
“They are available for selection. I have to be a bit cautious, especially with Aaron Ramsey, because he has not played at all yet. He has only had one week with the team so I will be a bit cautious with him.”
Nacho Monreal, Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott are all in a race to be fit while Lucas Perez is out for eight weeks after damaging ankle ligaments in the win over Reading in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
The manager described the Perez injury as very frustrating, especially because it came just after the player had worked very hard to start getting games.
“Of course he is absolutely gutted, because it’s an injury coming from nowhere, and a stupid one, because it was a deliberate kick. It’s a similar tackle to (the one from) Xhaka (against Swansea), but there was no red card.
“But the red card would not have helped Lucas. What is most important is that he’s out for six to eight weeks,” Wenger said.
