Arsene Wenger admits that the form of his current
starting XI is going to cause him a problem.
Arsenal have recorded nine straight victories which means the likes
of Gilberto Silva and Lassana Diarra may be left kicking their
heels on the sidelines.
Poser
"In our job there is always competition," said Wenger ahead of
their weekend clash with Sunderland.
"It's not because you don't select a player that you don't respect
him.
"For example Gilberto doesn't play at the moment. I have a huge
respect for Gilberto, for the man and the player.
"But at the end of the day you can only select 11 players to start
a football game, and it's part of our job to deal with that as
well. You feel sorry but you have as well to be realistic.
"I have 23 difficult decisions because all my squad I can play -
Diarra for Flamini, or Gilberto or Denilson. They are all top-level
players and every decision is difficult to make, but I consider how
the team goes at the moment and how they will play."
Fully fit
Wenger actually hopes to have his entire squad back in training
next week - which will mean Jens Lehmann, William Gallas, Tomas
Rosicky, Alexandre Song and Eduardo da Silva all making welcome
returns.
"Jens Lehmann and William Gallas are already back in full
training," added Wenger.
"Tomas Rosicky and Alex Song should be back on Saturday. Eduardo
should be back on Tuesday."