Nasri in, Diaby out of Arsenal squad
Reuters - Tuesday 15 February 2011, 14:16
LONDON - Arsenal
midfielder Samir Nasri will be in the squad to face Barcelona on
Wednesday after a faster-than-expected recovery from a hamstring
strain, manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday.
The attack-minded Frenchman Nasri, in sparkling form this
season, suffered the injury on January 30 and was expected to be
out for three weeks.
However, he trained with the squad on Tuesday and Wenger,
who said on Monday he would "not take a crazy gamble" on his
compatriot, said Nasri had a chance of being involved in the
last-16, first-leg match at Emirates Stadium.
"I will take no medical risk, he was quicker than expected - 17 days instead of 21 - and everyone is absolutely adamant
that he is completely medically available," Wenger told a news
conference at the London club's training base.
"It's down to me to make the decision."
However, the news was not so good for midfielder Abou Diaby,
who misses the match against the Spanish champions with a calf
injury sustained playing for France last week.