Sanchez will now likely miss several weeks of action with a hamstring injury after being played against Norwich City despite concerns to his fitness prior to the game.
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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”.
“And based on that knowledge it was quite obvious they were playing Russian roulette with Sanchez and with quite a few other players during the last 10 years”.
“I’m not a coach and I don’t know how it is”.
Poor ol’ Arsenal… Arsene Wenger really either needs to change the way his players are training… or fire the entire medical team… because the number of injuries every season is becoming borderline ridiculous. “I would have rested him but he said he was fine to play”.
The Gunners face an anxious wait to see how long Sanchez must wait on the sidelines for with a busy Christmas schedule on the horizon.
In the post game press conference at Norwich, a hostile and defensive Wenger answered allegations that Sanches may have been feeling the hamstring injury already before the match.
“I believe it’s normal that a player gives everything in every game”.
If forward Sanchez is ruled out for key games, including at Olympiakos on December 9. which could decide Arsenal’s Champions League fate, it will doubtless leave Wenger facing criticism about whether it was his own fault in risking the Chilean.
“I can feel for Arsene in a way”, he told Sky Sports. “I can take a gamble on one”.
“At the end of the day management is about making decisions you think are right when everyone else thinks it is wrong”.
“I must say with all humility we are not in a position to predict [injuries]”.
“And I won’t disagree with that”. “I think at the beginning of the second half, Arsenal dropped”.
Arsenal looked set to record a comfortable win however, the Canaries managed to level the score going into the break.
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“Yes, Arsenal had the possession as you expect, they passed the ball around the box, crosses, but in all fairness they only had three shots on target and that was all, in the game. I would say it was a fair point for Norwich but, on the injury front, it was a bad game for us”.
