Arsenal FC legend Thierry Henry was critical of Arsenal FC boss Arsene Wenger for not resting star man Alexis Sanchez, who had started to look a bit jaded in his last few games for the Gunners.
Sanchez barely had any rest in the off-season, having to play in the Copa America, in which he went the full distance and won the tournament with home team Chile. He barely managed to get any rest after that, when he was thrown into the mix of the domestic season, playing almost every game in the Premier League and in the Champions League.
In last week’s Champions League fixture against Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal FC managed to get a comfortable 3-0 victory. It is at this point, Henry believes, that Wenger should have rested Sanchez.
“With 20 minutes to go at 3-0 [ahead against Dinamo Zagreb], you can give him a little rest,” Henry was quoted saying to Sky Sports. “I thought, at the time, the game was won against Dinamo Zagreb. He scored, he had a good game and he didn’t get injured. With 20 minutes to go, take him out.”
“Now we can all say the same thing. If he [Sanchez] played today [against Norwich] and he scored he [Wenger] would have said, ‘I was right to play him’, but he got an injury so we are obviously going to say he should have rested him,” continued Henry.
Norwich draw huge blow for Arsenal FC injury-wise
Arsenal FC already had six players on their injury list before going into Sunday’s match against Norwich City. However, as both the teams played out a 1-1 draw, Arsenal lost more than just two points on the pitch.
Three more of their key players hobbled off with injuries. Centre-back Laurent Koscielny (hip), midfielder Santi Cazorla (knee) and Sanchez (hamstring) all suffered injuries during the match, and extended Arsenal FC’s walking wounded list to nine first team players.
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Winter is coming
The Christmas period is one of the most hectic parts of the English season, and Arsenal have nine of their best players in the infirmary. This does not bode well for a team that wishes to lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season. It would be interesting to see whether Wenger goes for reinforcements during the January transfer window.