Here are your Arsenal evening headlines for Monday, March 30.
‘Too soon’ for Xhaka to regain captaincy
According to football.london’s Arsenal correspondent Art De Roche, it is “too soon” for Granit Xhaka to regain the captain’s armband at the Gunners.
Earlier in the season, Xhaka was substituted and was greeted with boos and jeers around the Emirates Stadium and reacted angrily.
He was stripped of his captaincy by former manager Unai Emery but has become a key figure in the side again since Arteta took over.
However, De Roche believes it is a bit too soon to think about giving him back the armband.
“There is no question that Granit Xhaka has been one of the key players in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal,” De Roche said.
“I feel it may be too soon for the captain’s armband to return to him. Arteta will be fully aware of the Swiss’ actions towards Arsenal fans against Crystal Palace in October.
“Seeing as this was the reason he was stripped of the captaincy, it’ll be incredibly hard to see the armband just thrown back to him not even a season later.”
Podolski on Gnabry’s time at Gunners
Former Arsenal attacker Lukas Podolski has explained why things didn’t quite work out for Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry when he was playing at the Emirates Stadium.
Gnabry joined Arsenal’s academy back in 2011 and made his senior debut for the Gunners just a year later.
The Germany winger went onto make 10 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, scoring the one goal.
Nowadays, Gnabry is a star in a brilliant Bayern Munich team and has scored 21 goals in 53 Bundesliga appearances for the European giants.
“He was unlucky and had a few injuries. He did well in training. Off-the-pitch, we spent a lot of time together, going for dinner, but sometimes football is just like that, or you find a manager who gives you more confidence,” Podolski told FourFourTwo.
“Serge can shoot with both feet, and he is powerful and quick – a bit like me, only I don’t have a right foot like him! I’m really pleased that he’s doing well at Bayern.”
Torreira could return this season
Dr. Rajpal Bar has provided an update on Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira, who picked up an injury against Portsmouth in the FA Cup earlier in the month.
Torreira was initially supposed to miss the rest of the season for the Gunners, but with the coronavirus pandemic threatening to extend the Premier League season, the Uruguay midfielder could return beforehand.
“In the following weeks, Lucas will continue to undergo regularly scheduled CT scans to assess fracture healing,” Dr. Rajpal Bar said on his YouTube channel.
“Torreira’s ankle will remain in a CAM boot until the bone is healed with physio focusing on mobility, strength and fitness.
“Prior to the delay of the Premier League season, it was very likely that Torreira’s season was over. Now, if the season does return, which it sounds like the FA is focused on doing, Lucas could potentially be ready by mid-May.”
