Arsenal will be without midfielder Mikel Arteta (thigh)
for the opening game of the new Barclays Premier
League season against Aston Villa, but England
forward Theo Walcott (knee) will be available. Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey missed the midweek
international against the Republic of Ireland because
of an ankle injury, but is expected to feature. Full-back Nacho Monreal (back) is to resume full
training next week, while captain Thomas Vermaelen
(also back) continues his rehabilitation, along with
midfielder Abou Diaby (knee). Following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, Arsene
Wenger is now the longest-serving manager in the
Premier League. The Frenchman, 63, feels this
season's championship could be one of the most
open, arguing six teams were good enough to
mount a challenge. He said: "You have to consider all the teams that
made over 70 points last year have a chance. That's a
benchmark for me - 70 points. "If you make 70 points, it means that there is not a lot
of difference between you and the (team that
finishes) first." The full extent of Arteta's problem is still to be
diagnosed, but Wenger did at least receive a boost
regarding the fitness of Theo Walcott and Aaron
Ramsey. Walcott limped out of England's 3-2 friendly win over
Scotland with a knee injury while Ramsey did not
feature for Wales at home to the Republic of Ireland
due to an ankle problem. "It could be as long (as six weeks for Arteta), but
honestly we don't know yet. We have to check the
severity with the doctor," Wenger said. Given Wenger has also jettisoned several fringe
players this summer to free up the wage bill, Arsenal
could find themselves somewhat stretched in terms
of numbers ahead of their crucial Champions League
play-off against Fenerbahce. "I don't disagree that we are a bit light at the
moment," the Arsenal boss added. "There are 18 days to go until the end of the transfer
market and we are of course looking to strengthen
our squad." Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert expects to be
without midfielder Yacouba Sylla. The energetic Mali international is struggling with a
twisted ankle suffered in a youth-team game earlier
this week and is unlikely to have overcome it in time
for the trip to north London. Versatile midfielder Chris Herd (calf) is also highly
unlikely to feature but Lambert has no other
concerns unless any of his men return from
international duty with new injuries. Despite Villa's fraught season last year, when they
were relegation candidates throughout until a late
push saw them beat the drop, many fans are talking
about a top-10 finish this campaign. Lambert is wary of setting such lofty targets. "I don't know," he said. "You never can predict
anything about what's going to happen next season. "I certainly hope it won't be as tough as last season. "You give it a right good go. I'm excited by it, I can't
wait to get going. "We can't start games the way we did at times last
year. We've got to be bang at it from that first minute.
You don't have time in this league to bed yourself in
15 minutes or so. "We have to be ready and I think that's the big thing
that we've learned. We have to be right on it straight
away." The former Celtic and Borussia Dortmund player is
understandably enthusiastic about the new
campaign. "You always do have that excitement," he said.
"When you're traveling down to London you know
you're going to be involved in it and once you get to
the stadium it really starts to kick in. "You'll either be excited about it or you'll go and give
it a right go so we'll go there with no fear and we'll
try to win. We've got a threat, that's the big thing."
Topic: Today 17/8/2013, 15:00 GMT+100 - Arsenal vs Aston Villa (Read 984 times)
