Arsène Wenger is facing a conundrum over whether to rest Alexis Sánchez for part of Arsenal’s Barclays Premier League title run-in. The Arsenal manager may omit the forward for his side’s match at home to Swansea City tomorrow but is wary of alienating one of his key players because the Chilean wants to keep on playing.
Sánchez accepts that he has not been at his best since returning from two months out with a hamstring injury but is adamant that he does not need a rest and believes that he can play his way back into form. Wenger on the other hand fears that Sánchez is fatigued after being denied a pre-season break because of Chile’s Copa America exploits last summer and is minded to give him a break. The 27-year-old has not scored in the league since October and has managed one FA Cup goal since returning from injury in January.
Wenger will ponder other team changes after assessing his players in training today, when he is also expected to address their shortcomings in the 3-2 Barclays Premier League defeat away to Manchester United on Sunday. The Frenchman had little contact with his players yesterday because their training was limited to a short recovery session as he rewatched the United game with his coaching staff.
Some Arsenal players have privately expressed surprise that Wenger was not more vocal in the dressing room at Old Trafford, particularly at half-time, when little was said despite the team having just pulled themselves into the game at 2-1 with a goal from Danny Welbeck. But such an approach is not unusual from the manager, who also said little to them after the match.
Petr Cech insisted yesterday that Arsenal can still win the title despite admitting that the result at Old Trafford was a significant setback. The goalkeeper said that the club need successive victories against Swansea and away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday to get their title bid back on track.
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“It’s a step back but we can still make up for this,” Cech said. “We have two important games coming up this week and if we manage to win both the table might look better again.”
Arsenal expect Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be fit to play again in six weeks after he sustained knee ligament damage during the Champions League defeat at home to Barcelona last week. The winger, 22, does not require surgery and should have time to prove his form and fitness before the end of the season, easing fears that he could miss out on the European Championship.