Wenger: 'African nations will hit Chelsea hardest'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea will be hit hardest by the loss of key men to the African Nations Cup but maintains no-one can use that as an excuse should Manchester United go on to claim the Barclays Premier League crown again.

The Gunners head to Burnley for tomorrow’s third-round FA Cup tie, which will be the final match for Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure and Alex Song before they all head off to Ghana.

Depending on progress, Arsenal could be without the trio for the best part of five weeks, with the final not until February 10.

It is certainly a crucial period for Wenger’s squad, who have a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final against Tottenham as well as five Premier League games.

Chelsea are also facing up to the prospect of making do without four players - Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Mikel John Obi, Salomon Kalou and Michael Essien.

However, defending Premier League champions Manchester United, currently two points behind Arsenal, will not see their options depleted at all.

Wenger – who could also have lost striker Emmanuel Adebayor had Togo qualified - maintains it is something which all clubs affected just have to get on with.

“I believe it will be Chelsea who suffers the most, though on the other had they can buy more can anyone else to correct that,” reflected the Arsenal manager.

“But losing Mikel, Essien, Drogba and Kalou, that’s four main players. Nobody loses that many.

“We are just behind Chelsea and Portsmouth also – but I won’t use it as an excuse if we don’t win the title because I have known who we will lose since the start of the season.

“If they were injured, I wouldn’t complain.”

Wenger maintains he would still continue to scout for African players in the future, despite the logistical problems which could crop up every two years.

He said: “When you do buy them, you have to consider how many to go for. If you lose four or five games at that time, you can’t win the championship so you have to consider the balance.

“You can afford to lose two maybe, but not five. It’s certainly a problem you have to consider.”

Wenger believes African players certainly have the “hunger” to be a success at a top European club, given the circumstances they have often come through at home.

“They have power and therefore in the modern game they are quick and strong. Most of them are centre-backs or centre-forwards,” he said.

“They are also hungry, but I cannot believe we don’t have hungry players in Europe. Maybe they just practice more in the streets.

“Every empty space in London is not for football, but an area for building. In Africa it’s not the same.

“But I still believe that the top of the game is only for motivated people. If they are only motivated by money it does not last.

“You can’t build a career purely on a hunger for money. In the modern game you can earn it at such a young age it’s not a sufficient ingredient to build a career.

“You need that internal burning desire. You can be average now in the game and have money.”

Wenger is not keen to see much movement either in or out of his Arsenal squad this month, despite continuing speculation in both directions.

He said: “The danger, if you buy because you are desperate, is that you overpay and you have no time, no insurance – unless the player has already played in the league – to know whether he will immediately strengthen the squad.

“If, however, you buy because it’s someone you are after and there is specific weakness inside the club in his position, and it’s an opportunity to take the player, then it is a good moment.

“I do it only when I feel it is the right moment.”

Wenger is expected to rotate his squad tomorrow, but will still field a competitive side as they look to progress ahead of next week’s first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against north-London rivals Tottenham.

The Arsenal manager is certainly not taking anything for granted.

Wenger insisted: “I don’t underestimate the FA cup – we won it four times.

“At Arsenal we want to win the next game – but I cannot play every game with the same players, our programme is unbelievable and I have to make decisions.”

Wenger added: “It’s a tricky game. Our young players know what is expected of them.

“I read an article about [tennis world number one] Roger Federer who said in an interview that when he goes to a big tournament he’s always very apprehensive about the first rounds. ’In the quarter-final I dream to win it, but I am scared of the first round’.

“That is a good comparison with a cup tie. Once you are installed in it, the team has the target in front of them – in the early rounds you need to be really focussed.”