Wenger delays Henry decision
Arsene Wenger is set to leave his key selection decision until the last minute ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United – whether or not to rest Thierry Henry.
Wenger knows his team face a gruelling schedule of four games in the next nine days, a programme which he describes as “beyond common sense“.
He accepts some of his team, most notably in defence, may have to play against United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle, but he is unlikely to ask the same of his impact players, such as Henry.
The overriding question for Wenger to answer, therefore, is which games Henry can miss or play in the next fortnight without jeopardising either Arsenal’s treble hopes or his own fitness.
The Frenchman was rested from last season’s FA Cup fifth round victory at Old Trafford, but then again, Wenger does not want to run the risk of interrupting his side’s unbeaten run.
So while Dennis Bergkamp seems assured of the chance to avenge the 1999 FA Cup semi-final defeat to United, the Arsenal boss was delaying the decision of whether to start with Henry or Jose Reyes.
“Frankly, I have not made up my mind yet and I want to leave my options open,” he revealed at his mid-afternoon press conference.
“Most of the time, I decide 24 hours before a game and the players know who will play. A few times in the year, it can be good to change things a bit and keep them on their toes.
“I haven’t spoken to Thierry. Everybody wants to play but we have four games in nine days and I have to find a good balance as we could even play extra time twice.”
Henry played the second half of France’s midweek friendly in Holland, but was then flown back on a private plane after the end of the match, his 47th game of the season for club and country.
It all added to the mystery, with Sir Alex Ferguson entering into the mind games by declaring Ruud van Nistelrooy to be doubtful, even though Wenger expects the Dutchman to start.
As for Henry, while Sylvain Wiltord is not yet match-fit, Wenger could, of course, turn to Bergkamp and Reyes at Villa Park instead.
“They have not played too much together but they have developed well and Reyes is becoming stronger every week,” he said.
However, his decision will be based not just on this game, but on Arsenal’s forthcoming schedule, with the Easter games against Liverpool and Newcastle having been moved forward by 24 hours each.
“You have seen our programme, so that’s beyond common sense. I will have to make decisions to get through the four games with a chance to win all of them,” explained Wenger.
“I can’t choose between any of the competitions as we can’t afford to do it. You can’t say we will throw away the semi-final of the FA Cup as we’ve put so much effort into getting there.
“You never know the psychological consequences of defeat and at the moment, we’re on a roll so every game is hugely important.
“Maybe you could say it’s a bigger game for Manchester United, but it’s a massive game for us as we can get into the final again and that would be an historic achievement for us.”
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams, who took part in that 1999 semi-final defeat, has, meanwhile, tipped his old club to prevail this time around.
Adams, now the Wycombe manager, told the Football Association’s semi-final programme: “This Arsenal team is as good as any I played in.
“Sol Campbell is a great player and has been a vital part of the Gunners’ defence, and I’m not surprised by the form of players like Edu or Kolo Toure because Arsene Wenger has built a team of great players. He rarely makes a mistake in the transfer market.
“I take Arsenal to win and I see Robert Pires as the danger man for United.”
