Arsene Wenger has claimed Ryan Bennett “could have killed” Alexis Sanchez during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Norwich last weekend.
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“I don’t like to push players who are reluctant to play games”.
Sanchez has subsequently been injured and is set to spend time on the sidelines, with Wenger’s injury list starting to mount up. “[Bennett] did not need to push him like he did”. Guidance to clubs is that camera positions should be 2.25 metres from the field of play where possible.
“No one has said he could displace his hamstring or back when he was shoved into the cameras”.
Despite his comments, Wenger could come under pressure from supporters to recruit during the January transfer market with his squad rocked by injuries.
Laurent Koscielny could be fit to play this weekend, but Arsenal do not know how long they will be without star attacker Alexis Sanchez, manager Arsene Wenger revealed on Thursday.
The Gunners face an injury crisis as they enter the winter months, with Santi Cazorla the latest player to pick up a serious problem.
“Ideally you want them all to be with you but we are prepared to deal with it”, Wenger said.
Wenger is hoping Sanchez will be back from his hamstring problem before Christmas and says sending the player home to Chile while he’s out will also allow him to recharge his batteries.
“You lose confidence in your body”.
“We are quite sophisticated in testing our players”, he said.
“Sanchez is a hamstring (injury) but I don’t know how long it will take”.
Asked about a reported interest in Everton’s John Stones, he said: “We are not after John Stones”.
“At the moment, I’m more focused on responding tomorrow”.
“There is always a risk when a player has been out for five weeks that in the first two or three weeks he has a recurrence of the injury because nobody can tell you the risk doesn’t exist”.
The Frenchman and his medical staff allowed the Spaniard to play on during last week’s 1-1 draw with Norwich, despite Cazorla suffering the injury during the first minute of the second half at Carrow Road.
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Manager Wenger now believes Cazorla will miss up to four months of action.
