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´Resilience´ key to Koscielny and Giroud playing this weekend

SoccerNews in English Premier League 20 Nov 2015

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Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud will be assessed to determine if they are mentally ready to play at West Brom on Saturday following the Paris attacks.

Both players were representing their country against Germany at the Stade de France on Friday as a string of seemingly co-ordinated acts took the lives of 129 people.

The national stadium in Saint-Denis was targeted by terrorists, though the friendly fixture was completed.

Both players have returned to Arsenal this week, after a moving fixture against England at Wembley – in which both played.

Asked what he needed to see before selecting his team for the Premier League clash, Wenger replied: “Resilience and show desire to play.

“I will look how deeply they are ­affected. Sometimes it hits you more two or three days later than on the night. On the night you try and protect yourself or don’t know what’s going on.

“But slowly you ­realise the shock is always a bit after. I will talk to them to see how much they are up for it.

“He [Koscielny] had a fantastic game against Germany and you could see that on Tuesday night he was not himself. It affected him deeply and I didn’t recognise the player I saw on Tuesday night.

“I will talk to him to see if he is completely recovered and focused. Today in the Premier League you don’t get away with it with 80 per cent focus.”

France’s national anthem La Marseillaise will be sung before Premier League games this weekend, and Wenger is appreciative of the support, adding: “Symbolically it’s a very nice gesture.”

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