Arsene Wenger will take a medium term view when he decides whether Alexis Sanchez should face Manchester United on Saturday.
The striker will be back in London this afternoon less than 48 hours after playing in Chile’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.
After missing the international against Columbia through injury Wenger was shocked when he found out that Sanchez was in the Chile side to face Uruguay on Tuesday.
The striker is certainly in form after scoring twice but it’s his fitness that Wenger is keen to check out.
“What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played while recovering from a hamstring injury,” the Arsenal boss explained. “I’ll consider the way he feels as well. On that front you depend on the honesty of the player, how they feel and how they recover.
‘You have to trust the medical people from Chile. I completely understand that Alexis wanted to play in qualifiers – they’re not friendlies. Chile are not in a fantastic position to qualify for the World Cup and I understand that Alexis is keen to play for his country in such an important game.
‘After that, [for us] it’s a difficult period in November because it’s the first time when some of the players have played many games. Most of the time it’s a decisive period in the Champions League because it’s game number five and, for most of the clubs it’s a very important time in the Champions League.
‘In the Premier League, the first decisive games are also coming up so you have to pay a price. We lost important players in November for long periods last year.’
Hector Bellerin will be out of action for four weeks after being injured in the 1-1 draw with Spurs.
After Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford Wenger will turn his attention to the Champions League with PSG visiting the Emirates on Wednesday quickly followed by Premier clashes at home to Bournemouth and Southampton. The Champions League group stage ends with a trip to Basel on December 6.
In 15 appearances for Arsenal this season Sanchez has scored eight goals.
