Arsene Wenger has warned Alexis Sanchez will not instantly solve Arsenal’s goalscoring problems when he returns.
Sanchez is due to make his comeback from his abdominal injury against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday and the Gunners have missed his lethal touch.
Wenger moaned about Arsenal’s wastefulness in their 1-0 defeat at Stoke and top scorer Sanchez banged in 30 goals last season for the Gunners.
But the Arsenal boss says the Chile star and contract rebel, who is wanted by Manchester City, cannot be expected to return in peak condition after six weeks out.
“We’ll see how he goes through the week,” said Wenger. “He’s not played for a long time.”
“We will prepare him well. He was out with a muscular strain and hopefully he will survive the tests first before he comes back.
“He’s not played now for six weeks and it’s difficult to be at your best in the first game straight away.”
Sanchez, 28, looks in excellent shape and posted a video of himself on social media after completing what appeared to be a heavy session in the gym.