Arsene Wenger hopes for a clean bill of health when his Arsenal stars return from the international break.
Gunners boss concerned about injury toll of internationals
Arsene Wenger hopes for a clean bill of health when his Arsenal stars return from the international break.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League again after beating Reading 3-1 on Monday but Wenger fears international call-ups could take a heavy toll.
Arsenal have been without Robin van Persie after he injured his knee while away with Holland and Wenger is praying his squad will return unscathed this time to continue their title charge.
When they do get back to domestic duties, against Wigan at Emirates on 24th November, they will have to make do without Cesc Fabregas, whose needless late caution at Reading will see him serve a suspension.
"We wanted to get back in charge of this league. We have a game in hand, and so at the moment it is going well," said Wenger, whose team are ahead of United on goals scored.
Suspension
"Now everybody goes on a break and then we play Wigan at home.
"The international programme of the players is quite heavy for some of them.
"We lost [Cesc] Fabregas with suspension now for Wigan, so let's hope everybody comes back without injury because we lost van Persie during the last break and he still has not played yet."
Despite another impressive performance on Monday, Wenger knows there are sure to be plenty of more tests of character along the way.
"Let's see how far we can go," said the Arsenal boss.
"At the moment, this team is a pleasure to work with on a daily basis.
"They have a fantastic attitude every day in training. They are hungry, they want to improve always.
"There is a great bonding in the team and when you have these ingredients plus the talents we have, you can be very hopeful for the future."
Frustrated
Wenger added: "We are a bit frustrated because feel we should have taken more points from Liverpool and Manchester United, but overall we dealt well with the pressure all the time."
Royals boss Steve Coppell, meanwhile, admitted when Arsenal are on song, they are almost impossible to contain.
However, Coppell knows his men will ultimately not be judged on their results against the so-called 'big four'.
"These games against the elite teams will not determine our future," he said.
"We have lost the game, but not our competition.
"Although we could not match their ability, my lads stuck at it and kept on going.
"At the end of the day, they are just better than us."
