• Premier League

Wenger sweats on fitness of duo

ESPNsoccernet staff
October 17, 2011
Kieran Gibbs has suffered another injury setback © Getty Images
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he is sweating on the fitness of Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Marseille.

Ramsey sat out the 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium with a hamstring problem and Gibbs suffered a stomach injury and had to be replaced by Andre Santos five minutes into the second half.

Gibbs' injury is of particular concern to Wenger as the club has incurred numerous injuries in defence already this season. Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna are currently out, while Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou have only recently returned.

"Gibbs has an inflammation of his stomach muscles. He has a small chance of playing on Wednesday," Wenger said.

"Ramsey has a small chance of being in the squad. He had fatigue of his hamstring. I wanted to give him a breather - it would have been a gamble to play him."

Wenger's team endured a terrible start to the season, but are now up to 10th in the table. Despite a nervous second half on Sunday, the Frenchman feels his team is slowly coming together

"We have now won five games on the run at home," Wenger said. "I think the attitude and spirit of the team is great. The motivation is there, the quality is there, so slowly we are getting better."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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