Wenger rules out Alexis for North London derby

Alexis's race to be fit for Saturday's match versus Tottenham fell just short, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ruling him out due to his ongoing hamstring issue:

The latest is that Alexis is not ready. He is not far away, the Leicester game is a possibility. He is of course very difficult to keep quiet! He is training but it's light training.

Had this been 1-2 months ago, there would have been a legit concern as to whom Wenger could start out wide. But with the return of Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott, and the type of effective interplay they showed during last weekend's thrashing versus Aston Villa, Wenger shouldn't feel the need to rush back a player who's featured in the most matches all season long for the club - regardless of the derby match in two days' time. If there's anyone on the squad who could probably stand to benefit from a couple week's worth of rest, it's Alexis.

Wenger also gave updates on Danny Welbeck (should be in the squad this weekend), Wilshere (back to training next week, hopefully only after he learns to finally put the tobacco down), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (not quite back to full training), and Serge Gnabry (playing in the U21 match next Monday versus Newcastle).