So Arsenal claimed victory against a physical Stoke side to move within a point of Manchester United at the peak of the Premier League. But the three points came at a price. Two of Arsenal’s talismanic players in Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott went off the pitch injured, with the latter having to be stretchered off. Wenger on Fabregas injury:
“Fabregas has a hamstring problem. We will assess that tomorrow. It is impossible to see how serious it is. We will know Thursday.”
“It is of course a concern that he (Fabregas) is injured but it happens unfortunately. He was very upset. I am as well. But it is not his fault or mine. It is part of sport.
“It’s strange when it happens early in the game but we have to face it. We did the job after that in a very professional way.”
Wenger on Walcott Injury:
“Theo Walcott has an ankle sprain and he is out. For how long, I don’t know, but he is definitely out of Sunday.
Games for Arsenal are coming in thick and fast, and injuries are the last thing that Wenger would have wanted, especially to their captain Fabregas and sometimes game changing winger Walcott. The three points will however soften the blow as the days count down towards the Carling Cup final on Sunday against Birmingham.
Wenger praised his sides performance against a defensive Stoke side:
“We did the job after the injury in a very professional way against a Stoke team who defended very well. They were very compact but we were intelligent, calm, patient and overall I believe we were resilient.”
Stoke have been criticized for the way they play sometimes – using Rory Delap’s long throw, not playing on the ground and being too physical – Wenger even once said they played with “rugby” tactics. But he had no complaints after Wednesday’s game:
“No. I have no issue with the long throws and I do not have issue with any other aspect of their game. It is a team you know you have to prepare mentally for before the game because you will not take the points if you do not do it.
“Nobody likes to play against Stoke because they have a very special way to play the game, but I have to say tonight for me they defended in a very intelligent way. When we found some space they quickly cut it off and we could not take advantage.”
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Submitted by DBSFootbal
