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Wenger fears injury crisis
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted he could be without several key players for the trip to Lokomotiv Moscow next week follwing Friday`s win over Newcastle.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted he could be without several key players for the trip to Lokomotiv Moscow next week follwing Friday`s win over Newcastle.
The Gunners edged past Newcastle 3-2 to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership, but victory came at a price.
Patrick Vieira, Fredrik Ljungberg, Martin Keown and Ashley Cole all took blows and are doubtful for Tuesday`s Champions League tie in Moscow.
"By the end, we were nearly down to eight men on the pitch, but we never gave in and won the game, so that was fantastic," said Wenger.
"Patrick has a muscle strain on his thigh, Ashley got a kick on his knee, Freddie has an ankle strain and Martin Keown had a big kick on the fibula that he broke last year and felt the same pain.
"So, at the moment, it could be miraculous if we could get all four players fit".
"If it all goes badly, we could be without all four of them for Tuesday. It`s certainly a possibility."
And Wenger admitted he is hoping Sol Campbell will return following the death of his father last week.
"Sol has not yet appeared back in training and is not yet in shape to be part of the team," said Wenger.
"I hope we can get him back with us on Saturday or Sunday. Who knows, especially if Martin is out, whether we will have a chance to take him to Moscow."
Arsenal had been lambasted for their actions in the game against Manchester United last Sunday, and Wenger paid tribute to the character of his players after their win over Newcastle.
"The players were a bit shocked by the intensity of the criticism they got, but we gave the right response on the pitch by playing our football, like we are used to," he said.
"Whether it`s deserved or not, it`s not always easy to take that sort of criticism. We were a bit flat in the past two days in training.
"With so much scrutiny on every tackle, I was worried whether my players would put their foot in, but they did."
He added: "For us to get these three points was vital.
"We dropped two points against Portsmouth and although we did well against Manchester United, if we`d only won three points from three games, it would have been a bit short."
Bureau report
Patrick Vieira, Fredrik Ljungberg, Martin Keown and Ashley Cole all took blows and are doubtful for Tuesday`s Champions League tie in Moscow.
"By the end, we were nearly down to eight men on the pitch, but we never gave in and won the game, so that was fantastic," said Wenger.
"Patrick has a muscle strain on his thigh, Ashley got a kick on his knee, Freddie has an ankle strain and Martin Keown had a big kick on the fibula that he broke last year and felt the same pain.
"So, at the moment, it could be miraculous if we could get all four players fit".
"If it all goes badly, we could be without all four of them for Tuesday. It`s certainly a possibility."
And Wenger admitted he is hoping Sol Campbell will return following the death of his father last week.
"Sol has not yet appeared back in training and is not yet in shape to be part of the team," said Wenger.
"I hope we can get him back with us on Saturday or Sunday. Who knows, especially if Martin is out, whether we will have a chance to take him to Moscow."
Arsenal had been lambasted for their actions in the game against Manchester United last Sunday, and Wenger paid tribute to the character of his players after their win over Newcastle.
"The players were a bit shocked by the intensity of the criticism they got, but we gave the right response on the pitch by playing our football, like we are used to," he said.
"Whether it`s deserved or not, it`s not always easy to take that sort of criticism. We were a bit flat in the past two days in training.
"With so much scrutiny on every tackle, I was worried whether my players would put their foot in, but they did."
He added: "For us to get these three points was vital.
"We dropped two points against Portsmouth and although we did well against Manchester United, if we`d only won three points from three games, it would have been a bit short."
Bureau report