Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck will miss the chance to haunt former club Manchester United for a second time this season after being ruled out of tomorrow’s Premier League game at Old Trafford with a knee injury, manager Arsene Wenger said.
Welbeck, who has scored eight goals for Arsenal since joining for £16 million ($25.2m) last year, scored the winner in the Gunners’ 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory at Old Trafford in March.
But the England international, who started brightly at the Emirates, but has since gone off the boil playing in an unfavoured wide position, has missed Arsenal’s last two matches through injury.
“Welbeck is short a fraction, but is not far away from returning,” Wenger said yesterday.
“I would have loved to have him available, but we will have to do without him.”
Arsenal’s hopes of a second-placed finish took a hit on Monday after a 1-0 defeat by Swansea, but Wenger’s side, who have 70 points from 35 matches, still boast a game in hand on Manchester City, who are three points ahead.
Fourth-placed United are two points behind Arsenal having played a game more, and Wenger believes victory this weekend away from home would be another crucial part of his side’s development.
“Our recent away form has been very strong and that’s always a sign of a team who is in progress,” Wenger said. “To win at Old Trafford again would convince us that we have the strength and help us be stronger next season.
“Mathematically, we can put a distance between them and us in the top four and basically secure top three.
“There is a symbolic statement, because we want to win the FA Cup and, psychologically, winning this weekend and securing third would be very important for this.
“Against Manchester United, you expect a game of quality first, but we want to bounce back from defeat to Swansea straight away and put a good performance in, with a good result. A win would be great.”
United captain Wayne Rooney and left-back Luke Shaw will miss tomorrow’s game against the Gunners due to injury.
Rooney suffered a dead leg in last weekend’s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, and Shaw sustained a facial injury, the latest in a succession of fitness problems to plague the 19-year-old in his first season at Old Trafford.
United manager Louis van Gaal said he did not want Shaw to play for the England Under-21 team at this year’s European Championship.
“When you are not playing for Man United, you cannot play for other teams,” Van Gaal told reporters yesterday.
“He needs the rest because he has over-crossed the line. He is 19. We have to protect him. I hope the coach of the Under-21 team understands that.”
The Red Devils are fourth in the league table, six points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, and with a vastly superior goal difference they should secure a place in the Champions League qualifying round even if they lose to Arsenal and Hull City in their last two games.
Victory over the Gunners would lift United one point above their opponents into third, but the former have a game in hand.
And while influential midfielder Michael Carrick will also miss the weekend’s game, striker Robin van Persie is available to face his former club, along with Argentine defender Marcos Rojo.
l Wilfried Bony has failed to set the world alight at Manchester City, but the misfiring striker has a long-term future at the club, said manager Manuel Pellegrini yesterday.
The 26-year-old signed from Swansea City in January for around £30m ($47.2m) but the Ivorian has struggled for form and fitness, scoring just one goal.
Bony returns to former club Swansea tomorrow, and Pellegrini has backed the striker to come good for the former league champions.
“It’s important to have this clear – we didn’t bring Bony just for this year,” Pellegrini told a news conference.
“Maybe it was a difficult start for him here mainly because of his injury. Maybe he’s not playing the amount of minutes he must play, but I’m sure he’ll be a very important player next season.”
Bony’s fellow striker Sergio Aguero netted a hat-trick in City’s 6-0 victory against Queens Park Rangers last weekend, and the Argentine is the league’s top scorer this season with 25 goals.
But Pellegrini said the club were not looking to cash in on the 26-year-old as he will play an integral role in City fighting for the title next season.
“We are not a selling team. I think Sergio is very happy here,” Pellegrini said.
“It’s the season when he’s scored the most goals in his career. It’s important for us to be a scoring team – we continue to be the team that scores the most goals.
“When Sergio was coming back from his injury, he took some games to return to his top performance, but I always say he is one of the top five players in the world.”
Second-placed City have 73 points from 36 matches, three more than third-placed Arsenal, but the Gunners have a game in hand.
Pellegrini is expecting a difficult match against an eighth-placed Swansea side, who beat Arsenal on Monday and have impressed under manager Garry Monk this season.
“It’s the way you understand football and I think Garry Monk sees it in the right way,” the City manager said.
“I think Swansea have had a very good season, they are playing well, they have an important amount of points.
“They are fighting for the Europa League which is a good season for them. They will hope to finish in the same way.”
Saturday: Southampton v Aston Villa, Burnley v Stoke City, QPR v Newcastle, Sunderland v Leicester City, Tottenham v Hull City, West Ham United v Everton, Liverpool v Crystal Palace.
Sunday: Swansea City v Manchester City, Manchester United v Arsenal.
Monday: West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea