Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left frustrated on several fronts yesterday following his sides 1-1 draw with north London rivals Tottenham in a game that the Gunners dominated from start to finish.
Arsenal went behind shortly after the break when Spurs Nacer Chadli slotted home only to pull back on level terms following a strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to earn them a share of the points.
As if Tottenham’s stubborn defensive play was not enough Wenger must now face the next two games without Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta who both picked up knocks in the match forcing the midfield duo off in the first half with calf and hamstring complaints which means they will both now miss Wednesdays Champions League clash with Turkish side Galatasaray and next weekend’s match against Premiership leaders Chelsea.
Midfielder Jack Wilshire could also be absent from both matches with an ankle injury leaving Wenger with plenty of questions as to who he will play in the centre of the park.
“I don’t know how long they’ll be out but they will be out until next week,” Wenger said of Wilshere and Ramsey while talking to talkSPORT.
“Wilshere, I don’t know. The two others are out for Chelsea for sure.
“Suddenly we are short because if we lost three players today, and let’s not forgot that we already have two out long-term plus Theo Walcott, that’s six. Abou Diaby is not ready so it starts to become a worry.”
Talking about the derby Wenger thought that his side had done more than enough to deserve all three points saying: “I must give credit to my team because once again we came back and we put a huge effort in with a high work rate all together.”
“It’s one of the few times that we’ve had so much possession against a Tottenham team since I’ve been here, but they defended well, so you have to give them credit too.
“Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen did well, as well as Hugo Lloris. They took every second they could again, to make the game last as little as possible.
“I would like to see the referee deal with that in the proper way for once.
“They tried to make it as simple as possible – they tried to gain time,” he continued. “Slowing the game down is normal and I understand it completely.
“But the referee’s there to make the flow of the game respected and I would like an English referee to do it for once.
“People pay money in the stands to watch football. It’s as simple as that. It’s only a respect of the people who pay money to watch football.”
