Gunners face anxious wait on Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal face an anxious wait to find out the extent of the hamstring injury to England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The 21-year-old, who had just returned to the side following a groin problem, was substituted during the second half of Monday night’s FA Cup quarter-final win at Manchester United, where he had earlier set up Nacho Monreal’s opening goal.

Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed the midfielder was set for a scan but the prognosis would not be determined until later in the week, although it is now unlikely Oxlade-Chamberlain will feature in Saturday’s Barclays Premier League game against West Ham.

“Chamberlain has a hamstring strain, the only thing we don’t know is how bad it is because usually the scans are only done 48 hours after the accident. That will be done today (Wednesday),” Wenger said.

Wenger added midfielder Jack Wilshere was “progressing well” following minor surgery to removes studs from pins in his ankle, and Mathieu Flamini had resumed full training after a hamstring problem, so comes into contention for Saturday.

There was also positive news on centre-back Gabriel Paulista, who limped off against QPR with a hamstring strain but is expected back training “on Sunday or Monday”.

Wenger believes the victory at Old Trafford, secured by a goal from former United striker Danny Welbeck, can have a positive impact for the remainder of the campaign.

The Gunners boss, though, accepts recent performances have drained his squad physically, and so will have some decisions to make as he looks to keep the players fresh for both the West Ham match and the second leg of their Champions League tie at Monaco, where Arsenal will be out to overturn a 3-1 deficit.

Theo Walcott could come back into contention, having again been left on the bench at United.

German forward Lukas Podolski, meanwhile, has indicated his intention to return to Arsenal in the summer, having failed to make an impression on a loan spell at Inter Milan. Speaking to Sport Bild, the World Cup winner said: “The chapter is not closed with Arsenal, because there is no purchase option. I was the first person to clear things up in the talks with Inter and say I didn’t want any kind of clause that would have let them purchase my contract rights.

“When you’re on loan you never know what can happen, so at the end of the season we’ll analyse things freely and decide the situation.”

Podolski was left out of Inter’s squad for the Europa League and has seen his performance levels criticised by Nerazzurri coach Roberto Mancini.

Meanwhile West Hma midfielder Alex Song believes the Hammers can follow Monaco’s example and keep his former club Arsenal subdued at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

The Hammers head across London looking to kick start their Premier League campaign, having plummeted down to 10th after no wins in the last six and back-to-back defeats.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have surged back into the top four and are into the FA Cup semi-finals after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Despite Arsenal’s formidable run of seven consecutive home victories in the Premier League, Song – who played for the Gunners between 2005 and 2012, before joining Barcelona – believes the Irons can repeat Monaco’s performance after the unfancied French side stunned the Emirates Stadium with a 3-1 Champions League victory last month.

“I know this stadium very well and I know when you play with Arsenal it’s very hard, but I think Monaco is how you want to play when you play in the Emirates,” Song said.

“The best thing to do is to try to be together, defend together very well and when you have the opportunity to go on the counter attack, you have to do it very well like Monaco did it.

“You have to stay together very compact and not give them any room, then take the opportunity on the counter attack. If we do this very well like Monaco did, then we can get a good result there.”