Cesc Fabregas could be starting tonight against Chelsea in the Premier League clash at the Emirates – and Marouane Chamakh may be rested with RVP taking his place.
That’s according to this morning’s papers, with the Daily Mail carrying quotes from AW on Cesc and his recent injury. He said: “We have to move the hamstring out of his head. That comes from practising every day.
“It is hard to overcome if you have a recurrence of injuries because it plays a part in your head until you get rid of it completely, by reassurance. It is more a restriction when he comes on. The fact he has played 30 minutes has helped him but during that 30 minutes he was not completely himself.
“Physically I think he is ready. He has two more weeks of practice behind him and has looked sharp in the last two or three days. He has had the mental problem a little bit but it looks to have gone.”
The Sun says that much has been said about our failures in recent years when we face Chelsea and Manchester United. We have lost 10 and drawn one of their last 11 games against both sides.
The paper says the recent 1-0 loss at Old Trafford reignited the long- standing debates about our fragile temperament, adding that Cesc claimed we were ‘afraid of losing while United were not scared of winning’.
AW’s take: “Scared is a big word. But we played with a little bit of restriction. It’s down to the fact that the team wants to do so well. They are so keen to prove everybody wrong that it creates a little bit of a handbrake feeling in the team. But we will naturally get rid of that slowly.”
On our Morocco striker, AW says: “Marouane has given a lot. He has played a lot on his own up front. He is a bit tired at the moment,” Wenger said. “He’s used to having a winter break in France at this stage of the season.”
In the Mirror, AW victory tonight is crucial. He said: “We need a big win, yes. Of course. Chelsea can be an opportunity. To be in a race for the championship we know that to beat Chelsea at home, Man United at home and Man City at home will be vital.
“It is certainly something that will speed up the maturing of the team. But I’ve seen the Lampards at 18 and 20 and Rio Ferdinand at 20 at West Ham. They went down to the second league.
“So do not forget that these players at 20 they played in the Champions League, they went to the semi-final of the Champions League, the final of the Champions League for some of them, so they have the mental strength.
“But we had an opportunity to win the championship in recent years and OK, we didn’t win it. But we are in a strong position now, why should we worry whether we can do it or not?
“It’s down to the fact that the team wants to do so well, they are so keen to prove everybody wrong that it creates a little bit of a handbrake feeling in the team. But we will naturally get rid of that slowly.
“Look back – when you were 18 or 20 you were not completely the same man today. It is a process, how solid you are mentally at a certain age. I believe that my players are quite solid mentally.
“But they have not won yet and that is a mental hurdle everyone in life has to get over. One day you want to win and you show that you can win and for that you need to be tough and that makes you even stronger. But you need to believe.”
And believe we do, Arsene…
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