Four Arsenal Players Who Deserve A Rest For League Cup Clash Against Sheffield Wednesday

The word ‘injury’ is often enough to strike fear into the minds of the Arsenal side, much like it’s fans. It  has sent the Gunners into disarray, very often over the past 3-4 seasons when they were treading the path rather effortlessly indeed. Injuries after injuries, that too to crucial players leave Arsenal in shambles, affecting their form, catching them off guard and distracting them from their main objective. And currently, as the Gunners hold onto the second spot after a 2-1 win over Everton, a low priority League Cup clash at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium awaits them.

There was a brief period when fans felt that Arsenal may be engulfed by such a period again after both Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck were deemed injured, leaving the Gunners short of attacking options to get them goals.

And to steer clear of another such disaster, which seems to always grab hold of Arsenal. The Gunners must rest the following players:

Hector Bellerin

The 20-year old who has registered his name as ‘Flash’ in the minds of the Gooners all around the world, has been among the standout performers for Arsene Wenger’s side, who ousted Bayern Munich in midweek.

He’s made 9 appearances this season, in the Premier League to be particular and has made two Champions League starts, along with 3 FA Cup appearances. And although he might be playing week in and week out, without showing signs of exhaustion but for a youngster such as him, a break is always needed.

Mathieu Debuchy is back fit and giving him a go against Sheffield Wednesday would be a wise move.

Petr Cech

The only signing that Wenger ended up making this past summer, Cech has been solid for Arsenal so far. His showing against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich showed how good he really is and why his capture is as good as acquiring a striker.

He’s appeared ten times in the league, which is quite high and he has conceded just 1 goal in the past 4 games, with that one coming against Everton yesterday.

He’s kept the opposition at bay quite a few times and has shown consistency in doing the same. Resting him would make perfect sense.

Santi Cazorla

The former Malaga man, who was played further up the pitch last campaign has been deployed as a central midfield far more often this season. He’s turned 30 and has been pivotal to Arsenal’s performances, creating a total of 34 chances, just second to Alexis Sanchez.

Mathieu Flamini scored a brace against Spurs in the previous round and has hardly been seen since. Cazorla has done a lot of talking with the ball and has racked up four assists, despite of being fielded as a central midfielder.

Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are already nursing their respective injuries and Wenger wouldn’t like to add to his woes by injuring another key cog in the wheel by playing Cazorla in every single game.

Mesut Ozil

The undoubted and the unquestionable fact for Premier League fans has been that Mesut Ozil has proved a vast majority of them wrong.

The German seems to have finally found his feet at the Emirates and is back to his old self once again. He has made 7 assists this season, creating 42 chances in total. Along with Alexis Sanchez, he has played a role in ripping defenses apart at will. There has hardly been any game in which the duo hasn’t kept the Arsenal ticking, allowing them to barge into defenses to score delightful goals that are truly pleasing to watch.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain hasn’t quite got enough amount of game time this season and this game may be the perfect time to rest Ozil and give the young Englishman a go.