Wenger not prepared to gamble on Cesc
Fabregas has been hampered by a hamstring problem since his return to first-team action after the World Cup final.
Indeed, the Gunners skipper admitted the issue had been playing on his mind and did not allow for his usual free-flowing game.
Wenger — whose side could book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League against Braga tonight —is wary of playing his talisman too much, but believes the injury will soon no longer be of concern.
“It is getting better,” said Wenger.
“He was out for a while and had a recurrence of his hamstring problem, then it gets in your head.
“When it gets in your head, it is difficult to play free of your mind.
“I feel it is getting better in every match, from game to game he becomes stronger.
“On Saturday against Tottenham, he has created three great goal chances, so we are getting back to the normal Cesc.
“Sometimes after the game he has a little recurrence, but at the moment I do not want to take a massive gamble.
“We cannot afford to lose him, so I check every morning of the game how he is and we monitor him but it is on the way up.”
Wenger elected to leave both Russian winger Andrey Arshavin and Holland forward Robin van Persie behind when the squad headed out to Portugal yesterday while defender Gael Clichy had a minor back complaint.
Van Persie has made a couple of substitute appearances since returning from an ankle injury but lacks match sharpness.
The Gunners head to Braga smarting from blowing the chance to go top of the Premier League after Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to claim victory on Saturday.
Wenger was fuming at the manner of his team’s capitulation against their fierce rivals, throwing a water bottle to the floor in the dugout while also reading his players the riot act after the final whistle.
And while he may have since found some positives in analysing the defeat, Wenger insists his desire for the latest generation of Arsenal stars to deliver a first trophy since 2004 burns as fierce as ever.
“I want this team to win so much that I am giving every drop of my blood to make sure this team wins,” Wenger said.
“I want them to be successful because they deserve it, so of course it hurts when you get so close as we did on Saturday and you do not manage to do it.
“I just feel we have had two or three opportunities to be top of the league and we did not take it for different reasons.
“Of course we have huge disappointment in the way we lost the game.
“The way we conceded the goals, that leaves us with many regrets.
“Sometimes we are easing up in games because maybe subconsciously we feel we need to go through the motions and sometimes there is a more subtle subconscious feeling that we have not won yet and we get a bit nervous when we have to become really concrete.
“But on the other hand, the way the game was run should not make us doubt ourselves because, after the game, it should strengthen our feeling that we have a very important part to play in this league.”
Arsenal dropped to third in the table after Manchester United beat Wigan, but remain just two points behind the leaders.
“It is a rollercoaster season,” Wenger added. “Just when you think that a team is solid and will go on a run, suddenly they lose a game nobody expected them to lose.
“At this stage of the season, I have never seen a league as compact.”
* Norwich have signed Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury on a 28-day emergency loan deal.
Boss Paul Lambert swooped for the Gunners’ academy product after seeing his options in midfield hit by injury in recent weeks.
Lansbury, 20, scored five times in 34 Championship appearances for Watford last season. He could make his debut in Sunday’s East Anglia derby at home to Ipswich.
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