While some look at the international break as a good time to rest, Arsene Wenger reveals being stressed out more than usual due to the lack of control over his players. It is well known that the Gunners have a long history of losing important players to health issues mostly caused by excessive effort. Here is what the Frenchman had to say about the current international break as reported by Metro:
“Look, you are always on the phone. Before the game and you think hopefully you will have no bad news,’
‘But especially after the game you look at how long they played, did anyone come off injured.
‘You wait for the statements of your physios because they are in touch with all the players after the game.
‘We have an hour where we text each other with the physios. They text me to say they are alright or we got this or that injury.
‘Before they start the games you already know you will have a sleepless night.
‘Sometimes you’re angry because they play a friendly game, they’re overloaded with games and instead of being taken off they play the 90 minutes.”
Wenger has every right to be stressed out as very few Football Federations take into consideration the players’ situation at their clubs. International matches are not played as often as club games and have a bigger weight in terms of future results. If you are into betting and fancy Arsenal’s chances this season, why not use this tvg promo code.
It is somewhat understandable but still, players like Sanchez should not be forced into playing just because Chile feel they cannot qualify without him in their side for World Cup 2018.
It becomes even more difficult for a club like Arsenal who have an entire team of key players representing their country. Let’s have a look at how they did up until now:
Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi: fortunately, the two weren’t used as Germany played against San Marino which gave the manager a good chance to try out some new players.
Alexis Sanchez and David Ospina: through some miracle, Sanchez was not used against Colombia. Ospina played a full 90 minutes and avoided any injuries.
Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal: Bellerin was not quite as fortunate as he apparently picked up an injury during training. His fellow defender put in a good performance, scoring his first goal for Spain. He was featured the whole 90 minutes without suffering any physical issues.
Theo Walcott: the winger was unused by Southgate in England’s 3-0 win against Scotland.
Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny: the Frenchmen put in solid performances for France and pushed through the whole 90 minutes without any injury issues.
Alex Iwobi: the Nigerian international played for 75 minutes in his country’s 3-1 win against Algeria. No injury in sight.
Aaron Ramsey: next to Sanchez, Ramsey was causing Wenger the biggest headaches. Fortunately, he got through a full 90 minutes without suffering any hamstring problems.