Vieira gamble backfired — Wenger

ARSENE WENGER’S gamble on Patrick Vieira’s fitness blew up in his face as the Arsenal captain broke down injured in his side’s goal less draw at home to Valencia in the Champions League last night.

Arsenal failed to make the most of the 72nd-minute sending-off of Miguel Angel Angulo, with substitute Sylvain Wiltord wasting their clearest opening late on. They will still enter the new year at the top of Vieira’s fresh injury problem almost certainly rules him out of at least this weekend’s north London derby against Tottenham. The Arsenal skipper had been rated as having only a 40% chance of starting against the Spanish champions after a training ground injury on the eve of the game.

However, he then lasted just 37 minutes before limping off after sustaining an injury to another part of his groin.

Wenger revealed: “Patrick was insistent on playing and felt good. Medically, he got the green light and I decided to give him a test on the pitch.

“I took the gamble to take him off if he didn’t feel good in the warm-up but he felt good so that’s all you can want. It’s strange that he injured his leg on the other side but in exactly the same place and in the same muscle. Maybe he was over-protecting his leg.

“I took the same gamble in Rome though with Oleg Luzhny and it worked. You have to accept it when you take these kind of decisions.

“Of course, after the game, it does not look the best of decisions but you know that, psychologically, Patrick has an influence on the team.

“For the other players to feel him there at the start of the game is important.” Wenger added: “It was difficult to predict how long he will be out for. There is not yet any clear answer from the doctors, although it looks like he will certainly be out this weekend.

“That’s certainly not ideal but we have a few days now to reflect on it and for him to recover. Maybe we will have a positive surprise.”

As well as taking on Tottenham at White Hart Lane, Arsenal also face Middlesbrough at home, West Brom away and then Liverpool and Chelsea at home over the festive period.

At least they can now concentrate on domestic matters as the Champions League closes down until February, with Wenger satisfied with their progress so far.

Valencia boss Rafael Benitez insisted that he took great satisfaction in securing an “important point” from a tie against an “excellent team” like Arsenal. However, he seemed to question the decision of referee Kim Milton Nielsen to send off Angulo for an off-the-ball elbow into the stomach of Pascal Cygan. “I think everyone was greatly surprised by this sending-off,” he said. “We will have to see it again on the video in slow motion.”