Will Alexis play for us against Manchester United on Saturday?

The Chile striker played for his country on Tuesday - scoring twice against Uruguay. However, Arsene Wenger’s concern is that Alexis was nursing a minor hamstring complaint ahead of the game.

Alexis is due to land in London on Thursday afternoon, and the boss has a big decision to make.

"I haven’t heard a lot [about his fitness] because we were in doubt 24 hours before the game against Uruguay," said Wenger.

"We didn’t know if he’d play or not. In the end they decided to play him. He texted us to tell us he’s in good shape after the game. He came off after 84 minutes and now we have to wait. I see him tomorrow [Friday] morning and then I will see if he can be involved in the squad or not.

"What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played while recovering from a hamstring injury. 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."

As for Chile’s decision to play Alexis against Uruguay, Wenger says he understands the predicament they were in.

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"You have to trust the medical people from Chile," he said. "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 No 5 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."

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