Bolton Wanderers have been a pain in the neck for Arsenal in recent seasons and Arsène Wenger’s plans to end his team’s dismal run at the Reebok Stadium today have been disrupted by a pain in Thierry Henry’s neck.
The France striker’s absence will place extra responsibilities on young players whose lack of focus was blamed yesterday by William Gallas for a stuttering start to the campaign.
Henry should return for the Barclays Premiership match away to Fulham on Wednesday, but his team’s title chances might almost have disappeared by then if they continue their habit of failing to turn superiority into points — Arsenal have been limited to two points from their past four league matches away to Sam Allardyce’s team.
“We are losing matches that we ought to be winning,” Gallas, who misses today’s match with a thigh injury, said. “It is up to us to pay more attention as we are making stupid mistakes that are costing us dearly. I think it is a mental problem above all.
“Things have gone well for us against the big teams. But when we play against more modest sides, we become too mentally relaxed. It is a youth thing as Arsenal have a young team. But that is not an excuse — young or not so young, it is down to us all to correct our mistakes.”