Arsene Wenger: Rosicky rested against West Ham United over injury worry
Arsene Wenger has revealed that Tomas Rosicky is likely to be fit to face Southampton on Thursday after the midfielder was given a game off against West Ham United to help him recover his match fitness.
The Czech Republic international scored the winning goal against Queens Park Rangers on Friday, but was suffering from cramps after the game, having played the entire length of the match after being on the sidelines for sometime now.
Francis Coquelin was brought into the team in Rosicky's absence, who marshalled the midfield well and will give the Frenchman a headache when he chooses his side to face Southampton on New Year's day.
"I just gave him a complete recovery today. When I took him off with 10 minutes to go against QPR he had cramps in the calves and in the hamstrings, so I didn't want to take a gamble," Wenger told the official arsenal website.
The Gunners have a lot of injury worries in the midfield and do not need another player on the treatment table, especially with a series of important games lined up for the New Year.
The Gunners will be boosted by the imminent return of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and others in the coming days, as they look to progress in the Champions League and close the gap on Manchester United for third spot.
Their campaign got a massive boost as they secured six points during the Christmas period, with wins over London rivals QPR and West Ham United, taking them to fifth spot, three points shy of the Red Devils who travel to Stoke on New Year's day.
Against West Ham, Santi Cazorla scored from the spot and Danny Welbeck tapped in a brilliant cross from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as the Gunners held on against the resurgent side, who had a goal disallowed for Alex Song via a contentious offside decision.
The Gunners could have put the game to bed much earlier if not for Adrian's heroics, who pulled off some brilliant saves. The latest win was Arsenal's seventh in their last nine games, which includes a loss to Stoke and a draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
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