SPORT

Gunners' injury woes dampen Wenger's joy . Monday, 30 November 2009 15:49 PDF Print E-mail Arsene Wenger's pleasure at seeing Arsenal progress to the Champions League knockout stage has been tempered by injury blows to two crucial defenders ahead of Sunday's pivotal English Premier League tussle with Chelsea. The Frenchman was angry at seeing Kieran Gibbs (pictured), the left back, sustain a broken first metatarsal in his left foot after a poor challenge from Standard Liege's Eliaquim Mangala in the dying moments of Tuesday's group game at the Emirates stadium. Gibbs collapsed in agony and was taken to hospital, where X-rays confirmed Arsenal's worst fears: he will undergo an operation this week and is expected to be out for at least two months. That alone would have been a grievous blow, as Gael Clichy, the Gunners' regular left-back, is recuperating from a back injury. But Wenger's frustrations were compounded by seeing William Gallas, the France defender, fail to re-emerge for the second half due to ankle and eye injuries, the latter sustained in a collision with Andrey Arshavin, his teammate. Gallas' concerns are not believed to be as serious as those of Gibbs but he is unlikely to feature against Chelsea, his former club, at the weekend. That represents a devastating blow to Wenger, who cannot contemplate defeat against the west Londoners if he hopes to keep his league title ambitions alive. Arsenal's defense can be notably soft-centered at the best of times, but stripped of Gallas - arguably their most impressive defender this season - and their two most senior left backs, the defense appears even more susceptible. Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea's manager, must already be relishing the trip across London. Wenger's consolation on Tuesday came in seeing his side march into the last 16 of the Champions League for the seventh consecutive season, a record in which he takes justifiable pride. The performance that took them there was not exactly polished, with Arsenal spurning numerous chances and gifting Standard several opportunities, before goals in the final eight minutes of the first half from Samir Nasri - the team's stand-out performer by some distance - and Denilson killed off the Belgian resistance. "I'm pleased because this competition is not easy," Wenger said. "We were favorites in this group, which was normal. So we just did the job. "I believe we can go further than ever before in this tournament. But there are two competitions in the Champions League: one is a championship, one is a cup. "We move into the cup stage now, and that's very different psychologically. Every minute becomes important. But we have been consistent and that is pleasing."