The Gunners head into tomorrow's clash against Everton at the Emirates Stadium without captain and centre-half William Gallas as well as full-back Bacary Sagna, who both picked up knocks while away with France.
Add to that the enforced absence of fellow defender Johan Djourou because of concussion and striker Nicklas Bendtner, who has an ankle problem, and suddenly Wenger's options - particularly at the back - appear somewhat depleted.
However, the Arsenal manager is confident enough that with the return of Abou Diaby for the first time this season following a thigh problem and midfielder Cesc Fabregas having pledged to play through the pain barrier after breaking his nose during the international break, he can even afford to give England winger Theo Walcott a rest.
The Gunners are also expected to give veteran Mikael Silvestre a belated debut following his transfer from Manchester United.
Wenger, though, is anything but complacent having seen his men already lose twice this season - the same amount as in the entire of their last league campaign when they again missed out on the title as both Manchester United and Chelsea overtook them during the run-in.
With two more points dropped at Sunderland in their last match before a fortnight off, Arsenal, currently in fourth place, cannot afford many more off days if they are to remain serious challengers over the next seven months.
"If you ask me how many games you think we can lose, I would say zero because I always start a season thinking you cannot lose a game, but we have lost two already and we are in a position where we have given ourselves a handicap,'' he said.
"However, I still think it is manageable to get back to the top and I want to lead this team knowing that there is not a lot of margin of error left - but I still think we can do that.''
Wenger hopes all of his latest players to head to the treatment room will be short-term, with winger Tomas Rosicky and striker Eduardo both continuing their long roads back to full match fitness.
Forward Robin van Persie has recovered from a muscular problem picked up while away with Holland, but Walcott could be given a breather tomorrow.
"Theo has come back available, but I might rest him because he played on Wednesday night in Minsk. We have that option,'' Wenger added.
Everton boss David Moyes has vowed to rebuild his squad if they are unable to re-capture the form of the past few years.
Everton have won just two games this season. They also lost a Merseyside derby and have been dumped out of the UEFA Cup and the Carling Cup.
Moyes - who earlier this week signed a new five-year contract - will tomorrow take an injury-hit squad to the Emirates, while the following weekend champions Manchester United are the visitors to Goodison Park.
The Blues are without Tim Cahill, who completes a three-match ban, whiles fellow midfielder Segundo Castillo picked up a hamstring strain on international duty with Ecuador, and defenders Phil Jagielka and Joseph Yobo have flu.
Striker Victor Anichebe and captain Phil Neville are also still recovering from hamstring problems. Leon Osman has a groin strain.
Moyes said: "I would one day like to be as stable as Arsenal and Manchester United. They are in a different situation regarding finance, but the stability has helped them.
"Did I think that we could have taken Everton into the Champions League, or the UEFA Cup regularly?
"Maybe I felt that might be a little beyond us, but we have managed it and done pretty well with what we have had.
"But if we do not get things back to what they were last season we will have to start working on re-assembling another team for years to come.''
He added: "The facts show that clubs who make regular changes end up in trouble, including financial trouble. Now we are not in financial trouble but we have trouble because we need another investor.
"We have never had much money, and that is the case at the moment. But everyone works really hard to get to the top.
"In the last few seasons we have given it a good go, and that is what we will do again.
"Apart from five or six managers in the country, the rest of us are unable to move our clubs on in the way we would want. "
No comments:
Post a Comment