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Wenger Confirms Key Arsenal Duo Will Miss Galatasaray Clash

By on December 8, 2014

Laurent-Koscielny Arsenal

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he’ll rest ‘a few players’ for tomorrow’s Champions League clash at Galatasaray with Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez among those who’ll be left back in North London.

We head to Istanbul sitting two points behind Group D leaders Borussia Dortmund and with the Germans boasting a superior goal difference, we need to beat Gala and hope Jurgen Klopps side lose at home to Anderlecht in order for us to snatch first place.

Wenger believes that scenario only has a 10% chance of happening so he’s decided the game in Turkey is practically a dead-rubber, so will rest a few of his key players with Sanchez and Koscielny confirmed as two players who will not travel.

The boss told Arsenal.com:

“A few players [will not travel] because there’s not a lot at stake and we have given a lot in the last two weeks,” said Wenger. “We have to recover a little bit.”

“Alexis will not travel and I don’t think I can play, for example, Koscielny. He didn’t play on Saturday and I don’t see why I should risk him for a game where’s there’s not a lot at stake.”

“First place hypothetically, but there’s maybe a 10 per cent chance.”

I have no problem with Arsene leaving Koscielny out for the Gala game as he’s only just returned from a two month lay-off and we have to protect his troublesome Achilles.

However, why did we leave him on the bench against Stoke if he was going to get a rest in midweek? Surely he could have started at the Britannia and then got a breather tomorrow?

Anyway, it looks like we’ll be putting out a weakened team against Galatasaray and it’s never an easy place to visit at the best of times, so it’s going to be an extremely tricky fixture.

While the result may not matter for much in the end, another defeat is only going to heap more pressure on Wenger’s shoulders so for his sake, I hope we can come away with a positive result and then hope Anderlecht can do us a favour.