Arsenal will be without Francis Coquelin for Wednesday night’s Capital One Cup tie at Tottenham because of a knee injury. The midfielder was taken off at half-time during his side’s 2-0 loss at Chelsea last Saturday.
Arsène Wenger told Arsenal’s official website: “His knee is swollen and he is being assessed but we hope it is just a short-term problem.”
The Gunners go into the north London derby after successive defeats, with the Chelsea one following the away loss in their Champions League opener to Dinamo Zagreb.
Wenger believes his men were the victims of some rough justice in both matches, seeing Olivier Giroud sent off in Croatia while there were red cards for Gabriel and Santi Cazorla at Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s fiery Premier League encounter.
He said: “I believe we were unfortunate in Zagreb to have a man sent off, and at Chelsea as well, but you want your players to behave in a perfect way and not to show any response at all. We want to get back into winning habits and that is why the momentum is even more important for us. Every single game that you play with Arsenal you want to win, especially this one, which is a bit more special because it is always a big meaning.”
Of his opponents, he said: “They had a slow start but since then they have had two good wins, so that will have boosted their confidence. It makes you think it will be a very even game.”
The centre-back Per Mertesacker is available again following illness, but Gabriel Paulista and Cazorla are suspended.
Wenger is expected to rotate his squad, with Alex Iwobi and Glen Kamara likely to be included. He said: “We go game by game, so I will make changes, for sure. How many? I have not decided yet. It will be quite an experienced squad with one or two younger players.”
Provisional squad Ospina, Gibbs, Mertesacker, Chambers, Debuchy, Arteta, Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Sánchez, Giroud, Cech, Monreal, Bellerin, Koscielny, Özil, Walcott, Campbell, Iwobi, Kamara.
