Arsene Wenger has said that he won’t sacrifice any competition this season despite the risks of injury that can occur due to Arsenal’s growing fixture list.

Arsenal face a hectic schedule this season as they adapt to the Europa League and a new Thursday-Sunday routine. Of the four competitions Arsenal are entered in this season, the Carabao Cup is regarded as the most pointless.

The competition adds more mid-week fixtures for clubs, including a two-legged semi-final in January, a month that’s already packed with Premier League and FA Cup fixtures. Even with big squads, clubs can have trouble with injuries due to the sheer number of games.

Wenger, though, has said he wouldn’t sacrifice any competition due to the pressure clubs are under to win trophies. “With the pressure that every club is under now, you cannot sacrifice any competition,” he said, reports ESPN.

“You know that you could pay the price sometimes for it because if you go further in the League Cup, at some stage you play semifinals where you are home and away in January, and you have the FA Cup, the Premiership. Sometimes you lose players in these competitions.”

Despite this view, Wenger has already rotated his team heavily for the Carabao Cup and the Europa League. Arsenal’s progression through those competitions will depend on the strength of their squad and the luck of a draw.

Rotating against the likes of Doncaster and Cologne might be doable, but would be harder to do if we were drawn away to a tough Premier League team. Arsenal will be hoping to get through the week without any more injuries after tonight’s meeting with BATE Borisov.