The length of Cazorla’s absence after suffering a knee injury at Norwich is similarly unknown and with French midfielder Francis Coquelin having only recently been ruled out for three months with a knee problem, Wenger admits it has been a testing month.
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The Gunners will be without Sanchez for their game against Sunderland today, after he was forced off with a hamstring injury during the Norwich fixture.
Arsenal have injury problems to cope with at they prepare to host Sunderland at 15:00 GMT (02:00 AEDT) on Saturday, December 5 at the Emirates Stadium.
Norwich’s Ryan Bennett was guilty of very risky play, with the Arsenal manager left frustrated at the lack of column inches dedicated to it.
“We compare our injuries across Europe and I don’t think we have more injuries than anyone else”, he said.
And amid reports he had requested the arrival of Stones from Goodison Park, Wenger said: “No, I asked my players to focus on tomorrow’s game”. I had a chat with Alexis after his injury and he was adamant he felt ideal before the game because we tested his strength, stretching, all the signs we have we test every week were flawless.
“We have gone through a little bit of a bad spell in recent games, but we are two points off the top”. I don’t know, I have to wait until we have a complete assessment from the specialist.
“Santi wanted to have a chance to come back quickly so he didn’t want to last too long for 25 opinions and he made a decision to go straight away”, Wenger added.
“When Sanchez was pushed into the boards on the side of the field, that did not shock anybody”, Wenger said.
“I don’t know more than you”.
“I prefer to be back in the middle of the pitch – that is where I feel more comfortable and feel like I play my best football”.
There was some positive news on the injury front, however, as Wenger confirmed that Theo Walcott and Laurent Koscielny will undergo late fitness tests ahead of the visit of the Black Cats.
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Despite his comments, Wenger could come under pressure from supporters to recruit during the January transfer market with his squad rocked by injuries.
