Source: Team_Talk
Wenger would prefer to play on
The Gunners were denied the chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea down to just one point when their midweek fixture against struggling Bolton was called off just hours before kick-off due to the extreme weather conditions around the Emirates Stadium.[LNB]While the pitch itself, which like most top-flight clubs has under soil heating, may have been playable, the area around the state-of-the-art 60,000-seater venue had become treacherous.[LNB]The police also expressed concerns for supporters travelling to and from the stadium.[LNB]Wenger can understand the reasons behind such decisions, and is hoping Saturday's clash with Everton goes ahead.[LNB]"Personally I know only the inside of the stadiums - I don't know the surroundings well enough, but I must say it is the price we pay for living in a society where everybody wants 100% security," he said.[LNB]"Nobody accepts any risk any more and everybody is always guided by fear.[LNB]"If one of 60,000 people has an accident, you feel very guilty and nobody accepts anymore that the slightest insecurity could exist in our society and that is why the games are postponed when there is no real need for it."[LNB]Wenger believes should more fixtures fall to the weather, then perhaps the authorities may consider cancelling all the other matches, so as to keep a sense of fair play.[LNB]He said: "The question you can ask is, for the fairness of the Premier League, if there are two or three games postponed, should the whole day be re-scheduled?[LNB]"Because if you play one team now who fights not to go down, and you play them again in May when they are already safe or already down, it is not the same game.[LNB]"That is where you can argue it is not fair sometimes for the competition."[LNB]The Arsenal manager continued: "We have gone from individual initiative to collective responsibility.[LNB]"That means any single accident that happens to any individual, we are collectively responsible for it.[LNB]"When you organise a football game, you have to stand up for that."[LNB]Arsenal have recovered from slipping 11 points behind Chelsea following their 3-0 home defeat by the Blues at the end of November to be right back in the title race.[LNB]Wenger wants to continue the roll of good form against Everton tomorrow.[LNB]He said: "We do not want a break because we have a good momentum and we do not want to interrupt that.[LNB]"But at the moment we have played many games and we have a short squad, so the midweek break was a little help to recover from some knocks and bruises."[LNB]Wenger added: "We tried everything to play against Bolton because the fixtures are a nightmare, and to find reasonable dates in the season is very difficult. Hopefully we can play tomorrow because it is very difficult to fix the games."[LNB]Arsenal will again be without captain Cesc Fabregas because of a hamstring strain, but the Spain international is expected to return for next weekend's trip to Bolton.[LNB]Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner has resumed training following a groin problem, and could be back in action by the end of the month.[LNB]Wenger, without Holland forward Robin van Persie for most of the campaign because of a serious ankle injury, said: "He is doing well in training and had a good session today, so the news is quite good.[LNB]"I would say he could be back in two weeks."[LNB][LNB]
