Source: Telegraph
In December you can win or lose the Premier League title says Arsenal's Arsène Wenger
Nicklas Bendtner, Gaël Clichy, Denilson, Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and Lukasz Fabianski are all currently injured and Wenger is also well aware that the next month is a potentially vulnerable period for his squad. [LNB]'In England, you always get injuries in November,' said Wenger. 'You look at the statistics and they always happen in November and then you know in December you can win or lose the championship. [LNB] Related ArticlesArsenal v AZ Alkmaar: match previewArsenal lose Gael Clichy to injuryWenger not worried about Kroenke takeoverGibbs wants to prove Arsenal worth firstWenger faces goalkeeping dilemmaSport on television"You want your players to be available and the only team which seems to have all of its players available is Chelsea. [LNB]'It's the volume of games. You play on different pitches, players play international games, the end of the first phase of Champions League games and you could have played 20 games.' [LNB]The injury to Clichy was particularly unexpected and will, according to Wenger, place a huge stress on Kieran Gibbs. The third choice left-back is Armand Traoré. [LNB]'Clichy is a blow because it exposes Gibbs every three days and we move into a period where Gibbs would have played naturally anyway,' he added. [LNB]'You rotate a little bit more when you move into November. Clichy will be out for one month or two months and that is too much. He had a stress fracture on one side and it has happened on the other side. It was a gradual thing. [LNB]'He said during the game, he could play on pain free but the pain after every game became worse so we made a scan yesterday and we found a little fracture.' [LNB]Wenger, though, has considerable faith in Gibbs and has likened him to Ashley Cole, England's first-choice left-back. 'Both of them were first offensive players and were transformed into left backs here,' he said. 'Both adapted quickly and were thrown into big games very quickly so there are similarities there.' [LNB]Arsenal must also cope without Bendtner, a player who provides a different option because of his aerial presence. "Bendtner is a big blow,' said Wenger. [LNB]'I played him against Tottenham because he is strong in the air, Abou Diaby is strong in the air and we have more variety in our games because we can lose possession yet still win the next header with Bendtner. He makes us dangerous at set pieces and so we can change a little bit our game.'[LNB]
