Wenger to rest key players
29 November 2011
The Gunners laboured to a 1-1 draw with Fulham on Saturday after their 2-1 home win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Wenger will rest several of his big names for the City match.
Emmanuel Frimpong, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Park Chu-Young are all likely to play against Roberto Mancini's side at the Emirates, and Wenger said it was important to give his big names a break."I believe that some players are on the fringe of being really limited," the Frenchman said.
"I will rest some players, but I still want to play a team that has a chance to win the game.""Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Emmanuel Frimpong will play, but I consider them to be first-team players.""Park is adapting to the level he is facing here and he has another opportunity against Manchester City tomorrow night to show that he can do it.
"Wenger predicts Mancini will be resting some of his own key players for the tie, but conceded that would still make the Premier League leaders formidable opposition."What you call a second-string side for Man City still involves some very good players," he said.
"If you look at the team who played Wolves in the last round they still have seven or eight players, who you don't know if they are first or second string.""The good news for us is that we expect to play against a strong side and that we know we will only go through if we produce a top-class performance. Let's focus on that."
"We want to win the match and get through. Therefore, we will try to give absolutely everything."
