Yet another injury setback for Arsenal
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger seems to be always surrounded by young players facing one injury after another. Wenger has been dealt the latest blow of an injury to his center-back, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Belgium-c2850 in an
international game, and he will have to be sidelined for a month and a half after his surgery.
The news of an extended lay off would not be a welcome one for Wenger, who is struggling to put out a strong defensive backline. Vermaelen last played for the Gunners in the 2-1 win at home against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rovers-c40385 on the 28th of August, last year.
The Gunners boss has been forced to look into the option of buying a player on loan during the winter transfer window. Wenger is believed to be already looking at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Per-Mertesacker-c29680 from Werder Bremen, among other potential replacements
for Vermaelen. Mathew Upson, a former Arsenal player, is also believed to be an option Wenger is considering, and he may ask the West Ham player to join Arsenal on a permanent basis rather than a loan deal.
The injury of Vermaelen is not the only bad news for Arsenal this week- the news that Sebastian Squillaci would also be out due to an injury for at least 3 weeks, added to Wenger’s problems. Squillaci suffered the injury in the 1-1 draw in the FA cup, against
Leeds.
Arsenal were beaten by Ipswich Town 1-0 in the 1st leg of the Carling Cup, and Wenger was understandably disappointed by his team’s performance at Portman Road. He said that the loss, no doubt, was not acceptable, however, his team has a great
chance of turning it around in the 2nd leg, when Ipswich visit Arsenal in 2 weeks time.
Wenger said, "I believe we can turn it around... We will have to produce a different performance at home... We had a lot of the ball but didn't do enough with it. Ipswich defended with heart and hurt us on the counter attack. They showed that you can have
70% of the ball without coming out on top"
The Frenchman said that one has to give credit to the opposition where it is due, and Ipswich certainly played a high tempo game. He added that his team was not playing at its full potential and, due to the packed schedule in last few weeks, there was an
element of tiredness in their game.
While commenting on the lack of coordination in his midfield during the game, Wenger said that the team he played did not consist of the first choice eleven, so the understanding between the players in the mid-field was not that good. While reflecting on
his comments before the FA Cup tie, about his focus being purely on the Premier League this season, Wenger said that the Premier League remains his first priority, but he cannot let a cup opportunity slip by, as his team hasn't won any silverware in 6 seasons
and any trophy would be a welcome one.
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