Wenger weary of daily grind despite Gunners’ great escape
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said the Gunners’ schedule put them at a major disadvantage before they staged an epic escape in a dramatic 3-3 draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Charlie Daniels, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser gave Bournemouth a 3-0 lead at Vitality Stadium before Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Perez and Olivier Giroud netted to complete a stunning fightback.
Wenger blamed his team’s sluggish start on an extra 24 hours preparation for Bournemouth, which played on Saturday, as opposed to Arsenal, which beat Crystal Palace 2-0 48 hours before the match.
And the manager suggested Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny, Gabriel and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were not fully fit for a match that left Arsenal eight points behind leader Chelsea, which has a game in hand at Tottenham on Wednesday.
“It was a physical test and a mental test,” said Wenger. “Congratulations to them but, as well, it is too uneven to have only two days to play against a team who had over three days’ rest.
“Hector Bellerin had a knock, was uncertain to play, that is the problem when you had 48 hours. We had three or four players who we had to wait on till the warm-up.
“Koscielny, Gabriel, I did not start Oxlade-Chamberlain as I could not take a gamble with him. It complicates the job a lot but we have to shut up and cope with it.
“I’m ready to play again tomorrow as long as I play against an opponent who played today as well.
“That is what I call fair. All the rest, we have to play when we are told to play. We want to play against a team with the same time of rest and preparation as us.”
Even Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe conceded his side had a helping hand by the extra day.
“I’m not going to deny that will have had an impact, but that’s why you change the squad,” he said.
Wenger’s frustrations continued when midfielder Francis Coquelin was forced off in the first half.
“Coquelin has a hamstring (injury), I don’t know how serious, it’s too early to say,” he said. “We have to wait 48 hours. Usually when he sits down and comes off it’s not so good news.
“We have mixed feelings after a game like that. We wanted three points and we got one. But when you are 3-0 down after 70 minutes you take a point as well.”
The Cherries were without on-loan Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who was ineligible to play against his parent club, and Howe said the England international was put through the wringer by the tense finale.
“Jack’s a key part of our team and has got better and better,” Howe said. “I don’t mind people talking about Jack. I think it’s good from both sides that our players are talked about positively.
“We like to think our story is quite unique and puts us in a good position. It helps raise our profile that we can accommodate big players.
“I’d imagine Jack will have mixed emotions about the result.”