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Club Focus – Arsenal - Injuries and Ipswich Town prompt a defensive move by Wenger
Arsenal suffered their second disappointing cup result in the space of a week as they fell to a late Tamas Priskin strike at Portman Road. The defeat was arguably the first sign of fatigue within the squad as a lacklustre performance highlighted that cup commitments are beginning to take their toll.
The Gunners now face four games in 10 days, with their fixture list every bit as congested as the notoriously punishing Christmas schedule. The manager alluded to this fact, citing it as the decisive factor in the team’s flat performance: “With playing so many games, you could see tonight we had no spark.” This was certainly the case with Cesc Fabregas who appeared to misplace more passes in one match than he has in the entire season so far. Wenger’s insistence on playing his midfield maestro may be an attempt to build up his stamina after a series of injury lay-offs, but could equally be indicative of his increasingly indispensable status. Certainly the latter would explain the Le Professeur’s decision to laugh off speculation over his captain’s future earlier in the week.
Whilst the manager refrained from blaming external factors this time, Fabregas declared himself a true acolyte of Wenger’s school of thought, criticising Ipswich’s approach for the result: “I don't know it if it is long ball or it is a rugby kick, but it worked for them. I can only remember two opportunities for them, but it was from a long, long ball because playing football they could not really get behind us or attack us.” In truth this masks the fact that Arsene Wenger fielded a strong side that failed to deliver.
Prior to the match, Arsenal received a one-two far more devastating than anything the players could muster on Wednesday night. Adding to Wenger’s increasingly pressing defensive woes, it was revealed that Sebastien Squillaci will be sidelined for three weeks after picking up a hamstring strain against Leeds, whilst Thomas Vermaelen has had another setback in his recovery, forcing the manager to concede: “With this little setback… we are in a situation where we will have to look around.” Wenger refused to blame Wednesday’s defeat on the defence: “Let's not think that we lost the game because we haven't bought a central defender… We lost the game because we didn't play as well as we can,” yet ironically his argument about player fatigue seems to support the hypothesis as Johan Djourou, playing his fourth game in twelve days was left for dead in the dying minutes.
Of the potential arrivals, the most likely seems to be former Gunner Matthew Upson. Having signed from Luton Town in 1997, Upson never established himself in the first team, making 57 appearances in his six-year stay. Not overly blessed with pace, Upson provides experience and a defensive solidity apparently lacking at present and crucially, with his contract set to expire in the summer, he may come at a price too tempting for Wenger to refuse.
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