Wenger: ‘I want to rest Sanchez but…’

Arsene Wenger knows Alexis Sanchez needs a rest but Arsenal’s injury list is not giving him a chance to leave out the Chilean.

Sanchez has played 2367 minutes of a possible 2790 for club and country since the beginning of June, making him the Premier League’s most-used player.

The Chilean’s performance have dipped in recent weeks but Wenger has no choice but to persist after suffering a raft of injuries to wide players.

“I am worried because before he went away with Chile he was a bit jaded. But if I ask him ‘are you tired?’ you can guess the answer,” he said.

“At some point I will give him a break. At the moment I am a bit short because there’s no [Alex] Chamberlain, no [Aaron] Ramsey, no [Theo] Walcott, no [Jack] Wilshere, no [Danny] Welbeck.

“There are not many offensive positions where I can rotate.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered a small injury setback which means that he will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash with West Brom as well as the midweek Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb.