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Wenger blames fixture list for inconsistent form
Manager says three games a week for 10 weeks have taken toll
MANAGER Arsene Wenger has only one excuse for Arsenal’s inconsistent form – the fixture list.
He said on Saturday he had no choice but to rotate the Gunners first eleven because of the hectic run of fixtures his team has faced.
Wenger said: “For the last ten weeks we have had three fixtures every week without interruption. I wouldn’t mind if the teams we have played have played three games every week but that has not been the case. We have to be mentally ready every time. We do as well as we can but it is hard.”
The Arsenal boss is struggling to work out how his team have been able to put teams like Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs to the sword while struggling against weaker teams.
On Saturday, the Gunners had to claw a draw from their home encounter with Portsmouth after going two goals down. Substitute Emmanuel Adebayor had a telling contribution in turning the game back in Arsenal’s favour, similar to Cesc Fabregas’s cameo appearance at Wigan when he came off the bench to set-up the winning goal.
Wenger said: “Emmanuel Adebayor made a difference when he came on in the second half. I was asked why I didn’t bring him on earlier but I’m not completely sure he would have stopped the goals we conceded.
“I can understand why people would love to have seen Adebayor from the start but it was his fifth game in 12 days. In the second half we would have shown a response, with or without Adebayor. In the end he played 35 minutes and now he has a groin problem.”
The Gunners have dropped out of contention for the championship race and are likely to watch from the sidelines as Manchester United and Chelsea battle for the Premiership crown.
Wenger added: “Our unbeaten home run keeps going. What the team is giving at the moment, I can’t fault. I admire their great character. They play at Porto, Chelsea, Wigan and then Portsmouth and they still upped the tempo. I cannot even say Portsmouth was a disappointing draw. It showed the team has a lot of quality, a lot of character. It is the kind of draw that you will get in a season but because we have already dropped a number of points, it is harder to take.” |
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