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Arsene Wenger laments international break

Wenger laments international break
© PA Photos
Arsene Wenger says that he would rather keep his players at Arsenal to prepare for the North London derby on Saturday than lose them to the international break this week.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed his anger at losing a number of his squad to the international break.

The Gunners surrendered a two goal-lead for the second time in a week on Saturday as they drew 3-3 with Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

The Frenchman will now lose a whole host of players to international duty, and Wenger says that he would rather keep his players at the club to prepare for Saturday's North London derby with Tottenham Hotspur.

"It is bad for us. I would prefer that the team stays here and prepares for our next game," said Wenger. "There is a risk with the players who have played our [last] three games - they play another one [in midweek], and another one [against Spurs], and after that they play against Montpellier [in the UEFA Champions League].

"At the moment we cannot rotate too much, so it is not ideal, but we have to deal with that. We have no time to train on it, because the players go away and anyway, when you play every three days you cannot practice too much.

"However, it is like that for all the teams. I have played Champions League for 15 years now and we have to do that every year for periods. As long as you play in the League Cup as well, you never have a complete week to prepare the next game - but it is part of being at Arsenal."

The Gunners host Spurs on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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