“I would have rested Sanchez, but he said to me before the game he was fine to play”, he said.
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But he started on Sunday and Arsenal’s injury problems worsened in what Wenger said was a “below par performance”. We don’t need to worry about (the injuries).
Forward, Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny were forced off the game following an injury, with Santi Cazorla also taking a blow to his knee.
Yet it is Arsenal sitting fourth in the Premier League – only two points behind front-runners Manchester City and Leicester – and Chelsea is 12 points further back in 14th place. “I fear that is not really the reality”.
Former Blackburn and Norwich striker Chris Sutton was BBC Radio 5 live’s summariser at the match.
He said: “They (Arsenal) are in a group where a kid friend of mine, Marco Silva, is the manager of Olympiakos”.
The North London side took the lead in the 30th minute through their German midfielder, Mesut Ozil.
The scan results will determine whether he will miss the entire festive schedule of matches, with Arsenal now preparing to play seven matches in a month with a squad that has been significantly depleted by injuries.
In fact, the home side’s best chance came when Martin Olsson’s cross skimmed goalwards off Gabriel’s head, but Petr Cech came to Arsenal’s rescue with a superb reaction save.
“If Chelsea had played like they did a year ago they would be 10 points clear now, with one hand already on the trophy”.
“I believe it’s normal that a player gives everything in every game”.
Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has insisted that the team can cope without their star player Alexis Sanchez, who faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
But the likes of Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta all in the treatment room alongside Coquelin, with a lack of central midfielders the main issue Wenger is likely to address if he buys in the transfer window.
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When asked what condition Sanchez had been in in the build-up to the Norwich game, Wenger added: “We checked him and when you have no force and no middle stretch in your hamstring then there is no problem and he had that”. “How bad it is, we’ll have to see that tomorrow (Monday)”.
