Arsene Wenger insisted he had little choice but to field a weakened side as Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup by Stoke.
Arsene Wenger insisted he had little choice but to field a weakened side as Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup by Stoke.
The Gunners went down 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium in a fourth round tie, and boss Wenger conceded that his youthful side could not cope with Stoke's physical style.
But with crucial Premier League games against major rivals Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in a 14-day spell coming up, Wenger clearly was concentrating on his club's title ambitions.
Ricardo Fuller scored with a header in each half for Stoke, with Dean Whitehead adding the third. Denilson had given Arsenal hope with a first-half equaliser. "I do not regret the side I put out, I did not have much choice.
We had 10 injuries and a very difficult programme coming up," said Wenger.
"Our selection was simple, take a look at our schedule and you must see we cannot play the same 11 every time. That is for sure. But if you do not win in such situations, it is my fault. I can only stand by the team I selected in the circumstances, we lost but there was not much room for manoeuvre in terms of players available. Were they better than us? Let's say they were more dangerous than us. That is a very important factor in winning games," he added.
Stoke had beaten Arsenal in the league last season, sparking a war of words with Wenger over the Potteries side's physical style.
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