Arsenal Injury Worries Pile Up For Wenger

Bellerin said: “I have said it before, there is great depth in the team”. Some good news for Arsenal fans before kick-off was the return of talents Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the Arsenal squad – the Welshman to the starting line-up and the tricky winger took his place on the bench as a precaution.

Sanchez is not the only injury headache for Wenger, with defender Laurent Koscielny replaced after suffering a hip injury, while midfielder Santi Cazorla was forced to play on despite a knee injury as the Gunners had used all three of their substitutions. When asked about this by reporters, Wenger responded sharply: “The players are there to play, not to be rested when (the) press decides when they need to be rested”.

“Now we can all say the same thing”.

Arsenal dominated the first half but Norwich drew level when Robbie Brady played the ball into the area where Grabban was too strong for substitute Gabriel and slotted home a simple finish on his first league start since the opening weekend of the season.

“It would be fantastic for the kid’s career to go through, so I have to be honest and say that I would like the kid and Olympiakos to go on”.

“I’m not a coach and I don’t know how it is”. “I would have rested him but he felt perfectly alright before the game”.

“Alexis Sanchez has been in scintillating form and you could see Arsenal missed him when he went off. He [Alexis] says it is a kick on his hamstring but I believe that is not really the reality”.

However, after the game Wenger was adamant that Alexis’ injury was not his fault, with the Chilean joining a growing list of players in the Arsenal treatment room.

Arsenal go to Athens needing to win by two goals, or by a high-scoring one-goal margin, if they are to progress to the Champions League last-16. “I could take a gamble on one”. You are playing for the title and you come here [to Norwich] and you need to win.

“At the end of the day management is about making decisions you think are right when everyone else thinks it is wrong”.

Wenger was already without nearly an entire team of stars as Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky are now sidelined.