Wenger puts courageous face on Arsenal injury crisis

Arsenal have been hit by a double injury blow ahead of their do-or-die Champions League clash with Olympiakos.

Sanchez had come into the game with a muscle injury, with Wenger admitting that the player had felt a “tightness” in the club’s midweek win over Dinamo Zagreb, although he insisted that the club’s test had indicated that the forward was fit to play.

“It was a hard game”. When Campbell and the Ox came onto the right they began to link up with the Spaniard and we started to look a threat again. “Playing the way we played, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 10 matches we don’t lose one”.

The Sky Sports pundit took former manager Arsene Wenger to task over not giving Arsenal talisman Alexis Sanchez a break in yesterday’s draw with Norwich.

“I would have rested Sanchez, but he said to me before the game he was fine to play”, he said.

“Every player wants to stay in the team and scoring gives me a bigger chance to do that”, Grabban said.

“They are ready to step up so obviously every single player on the bench can do the same job as every single player in the starting 11”.

“The players are there to play football and not to be rested and not for the press to decide if they need to be rested”, Wenger replied when asked about Sanchez’s injury in his post-match press conference.

“The conditions weren’t the best but Norwich are a well-organised team who were very solid at the back and risky on the counter”.

His decision to play Sanchez from the start of the season after the Chile striker had trained at Arsenal for only four days following his summer holiday is also under scrutiny.

And the midfielder admitted that he was thrilled to gain more first-team minutes as he bids to rediscover his top form as the hectic festive schedule looms large. The worrying thing is it got worse during the game.

Aaron Ramsey returned this week, playing 72 minutes on Sunday, after one month out with another hamstring injury. “Because that happened he put himself behind others in the pecking order and that is why he hasn’t been involved – but I thought this game suited his attributes”. “Hopefully I can get a few more games under my belt to get my fitness levels back up”.