Lack of attacking options forced Wenger into Sanchez gamble

“I would have rested him today but he felt perfectly alright before the game.”

Lack of attacking options forced Wenger into Sanchez gamble

Arsene Wenger has been left to rue his side's mounting injury problems after today’s

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“We have three (injuries) because (Santi) Carzola played on one leg for the final part of the second half - he has a knee problem,” Wenger told Sky Sports 1.

“(Alexis) Sanchez is a hamstring problem and (Laurent) Koscielny has a hip problem, how bad it is, I don’t know, we’ll have to see that tomorrow.”

When asked if the amount of playing time contributed to Sanchez’s problem, the Gunners boss replied: “At the moment we have – on the striker front – not much choice.

“Maybe the travelling as well to South America... I would have rested him today but he felt perfectly alright before the game and he declared that he had no problem.”

Reflecting on the game, Wenger said: “Just a point. I think we were a bit jaded physically and we looked as though we had to dig deep to get our game going and after a good start – and 1-0 up – we allowed Norwich to come back into the game.

“In the second half we tried and had a lot of possession but you could see that the penetration in the final third was not sharp enough, not incisive enough and overall we are frustrated because we wanted three points.

“You have to give credit to the quality of the Norwich performance.”

Lewis Grabban scores the equaliser for Norwich. Photo: Adam Davy/PA
Lewis Grabban scores the equaliser for Norwich. Photo: Adam Davy/PA

Canaries boss Alex Neil also reserved praise for Lewis Grabban after the 27-year-old striker levelled before half-time.

Neil said: “I felt that Lewis had been a great player for me since I’ve been here. There were a few wee things that happened in the early part of the season but Lewis brings great things to the team.

“His retention of the ball is excellent. I thought he showed his quality there and I’m really pleased he got his goal.

“I’ve got 21/22 players that I can put either of them in the starting XI and they will do a job for me. Lewis got his opportunity today and he did great.”

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