Arsene Wenger has admitted he will need to rotate his squad due to the demanding fixture list in January.

Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday night means they’ll be playing two more games during January. The team will now play eight times during the month, on top of the three games they still have remaining in December.

Wenger knows he’ll be unable to play his best team in every game, and has said he’ll need to examine the fixture list to determine the best way forward.

“When you look at our fixtures in January and February, you cannot imagine we will always play with the same players in every game,” he told Arsenal.com.
“Will I change from Premier League game to Premier League or only in the Carabao Cup? I don’t know yet – I have to look at the fixtures to see what I do.
wenger southampton
Arsene Wenger.
 “It is very demanding, especially because we already have a tough schedule behind us. We have to sit down and analyse very well what we can do.
“What is very worrying in my job is when you start to lose players, like Giroud tonight. After, you cannot afford to lose another one. I have to look how I can manage the schedule.”

Wenger has rotated his team between league and cup matches already this season. Thanks to a low standard of opposition, he’s been able to field two entirely different teams without hindering results.

However, that could be tricky in January as Arsenal are likely to receive a difficult opponent in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. In addition, the Gunners cannot afford to drop points in the Premier League.

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It’ll be a case of deciding which games should have highest priority and which players could do with a break. The once-a-week schedule the Premier League eleven has enjoyed so far will help. A few injuries, though, could make rotation even harder.

We’ve already lost Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud to injuries. Let’s hope we don’t lose any more.

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