Sanchez and Koscielny injured

Arsene Wenger defended his decision to start Alexis Sanchez in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norwich after the Chilean and two other players picked up injuries.

Spanish full-back Hector Bellerin insisted Arsenal have the depth to cope with the loss of injured forward Alexis Sanchez. I fear the reality is worse than that. It is thought that he was planning to rest Sanchez against Sunderland on Saturday or Aston Villa the following week although former captain Thierry Henry has questioned why he did not bring Sanchez off when Arsenal were comfortably beating Dinamo Zagreb last Tuesday.

But the Gunners were unable to secure a victory which would have moved them level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City as Grabban collected Robbie Brady’s pass to fire past Petr Cech moments before the break. “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 take information, especially from the medical people who know him and treat him everyday and after, we look at his overall recovery as well”, Wenger said.

“I personally wouldn’t have liked that when I was a player, but you take it on the chin and see the bigger picture because you want to be out there and play the whole season”.

Compounding Arsenal’s injury problems, Wenger revealed that midfielder Santi Cazorla had also sustained a leg injury during the game.

Arsenal host Sunderland at the Emirates stadium next weekend in the Premier League.

Wenger will learn the full extent of the injuries to Sanchez and Cazorla – who suffered a kick to his left knee – over the next 24 hours but their chances of recovering inside 10 days are rated as slim.

“I would have rested Sanchez, but he said to me before the game he was fine to play”, he said. “But we are still not far, and going through that spell and still not being far is alright”. We will have to asses them. It’s not enough, but we have an opportunity to come back.

Both Cazorla and Sanchez have now undergone medical checks and according to reports, both of them will miss Arsenal’s next two matches and even more.

“It was, on the injury front, a bad afternoon for us”.