Under-fire Arsene Wenger to field untested, young Gunners against Galatasaray

New Delhi: With a rather long list of injured players, Arsene Wenger has decided to field an untested players in their Champions League Group D tie in Galatasaray on Tuesday.

Arsenal have already qualified for the last 16 round and there is little chance of them overtaking German side Borussia Dortmund to the top spot in the group. So why risk an already injury-plagued team.

The Galatasaray fixture will witness never heard before names like Alex Iwobi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Glen Kamara, and Stefan O’Connor, besides youngsters Gedion Zelalem and Chuba Akpom. In Istanbul, likes of Joel Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Lukas Podolski will lead the attack.

In a surprising move, Wenger announced his team for the match well in advance, saying he has "nothing to hide." In absence of established players, Wenger has an opportunity to test some youngsters.

Arsenal have been dealing with injury crisis like any other team in England. And the latest players to join the list are Laurent Koscielny (achilles), Kieran Gibbs (hip) Danny Welbeck (knee) and Alexis Sanchez, who's been carrying a groin problem.

The London club is already without the services of star players Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott.

With three defeats in their last five Premier League matches, Wenger has been at the receiving end of the fans and critics alike.