Wenger wary of Owen
Gunners boss warns defence over striker
Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal players not to underestimate the threat of Michael Owen when Newcastle return to Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The England striker may have only scored once since October - against Stoke in the FA Cup - but Wenger insists the "quality is there", with Magpies boss Kevin Keegan confident Owen will soon be back among the goals.
There have, nevertheless, been suggestions Owen could become a high-profile casualty under new England manager Fabio Capello when the squad is announced for the friendly against Switzerland.
Wenger, though, has long been an admirer of the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker.
The Arsenal manager knows full well it would be foolish to write off Owen as a spent force.
"His match sharpness will come back with more games," Wenger said.
"On Tuesday night he will be sharper than against us on Saturday.
"You still feel that if you make a mistake, he will be there to take advantage of it as his runs are very intelligent.
Worried
"Against us in the FA Cup on Saturday, I was worried about him as I felt that if no-one was there, he would be there - on deflections he is in there.
"You see that the quality is there, but Owen is not yet 100 per cent."
Arsenal can go top of the table with victory over Newcastle and Wenger believes the title race will go down to the wire.
"I believe that it will be tight until the end of the season," added Wenger.
"I watched Chelsea the other night. They had 11 players out and were still very strong. Who were not on the pitch were very experienced, so you can't discount Chelsea - they are winners as they have won the title before.
"It will be interesting. We have the smallest squad. That is why it is important that we do not have injuries."
Wenger did receive a boost on the injury front with news that Kolo Toure's and Tomas Rosicky's injuries are not serious.
Toure suffered a groin problem on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, while Rosicky picked up a hamstring injury during Saturday's win over Newcastle.
However, Wenger expects the duo to be back in action in a couple of weeks.
"It will keep him [Toure] out for eight to 10 days - but Kolo will stay with the Ivory Coast squad for the rest of the tournament," noted Wenger,
"There is no deep problem with Tomas. He has a problem with his hamstring, but it is not torn.
"Tomas got a kick at Fulham and the inflammation around his tendon provokes some pain, but we feel it's a question of days, not weeks."
[ 本帖最後由 jacksonkua 於 2008-1-29 02:02 PM 編輯 ] |
發表於 2008-1-29 01:59 PM
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