By Ollie Irish
The papers seem to think that Monsieur Wenger will risk Cesc Fabregas against Porto in the Champions League tomorrow evening. Wenger told The Sun: “I’m ready to take the gamble. But if there is more than a 50 per cent chance of his hamstring going I will not take it.”
This is a very tough call, obviously. Do Arsenal try to get past Porto without their most influential player? It could all go horribly wrong…
The worst-case scenario: On a chilly night in north London, Fabregas really pings his tweaked hamstring, Arsenal go out of the Champions League, Fabregas misses three-four weeks of the Premier League run-in. For Gooners, it doesn’t bear thinking about.
I wouldn’t start with Fabregas, but I would have him on the bench as an insurance policy. Even without Cesc, and at home, I fancy Arsenal to beat the Portuguese side, who are a decent outfit but eminently beatable; Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott look in good nick, and they can provide the creative spark sans Cesc.
What would you do, armchair Wengers?
UPDATE: Looks like Cesc is out, after all. Doh