'We lost Sanchez,.it is a big blow' - Arsene Wenger

It has been yet another black November for Arsene Wenger and a disastrous month threatens to undermine Arsenal's whole season.

In addition to the losses of Koscielny and Alexis, Santi Cazorla also pulled up with a knee issue of which the Gunner's boss is also concerned about. Cazorla was able to play through the match but Wenger confirmed after the match that the Spaniard was only able to play with one leg.

"The players are there to play football and not to be rested, and it's not for the press to decide if they need to be rested", Wenger replied when asked about Sanchez's injury.

While Henry found his compatriot culpable for allowing Alexis to indulge in excessive game-time, he understands the pressure placed on Wenger that necessitates his constant use of the club's best players.

Koscielny and Alexis took Arsenal's injury tally to nine players. "It would be fantastic for the kid's career to go through, so I have to be honest and say that I would like the kid and Olympiakos to go on".

James Milner's 62nd-minute penalty, awarded for a handball by Neil Taylor, lifted Jurgen Klopp's side up to sixth place and increased the pressure on Swansea manager Garry Monk, who has overseen one win in 10 league games. "If he [Sanchez] played today [against Norwich] and he scored he [Wenger] would have said, "I was right to play him", but he got an injury so we are obviously going to say he should have rested him", continued Henry.

The Wales midfielder had been sidelined since October, but returned as a substitute in the Gunners' convincing midweek win against Dinamo Zagreb.

Dutch fitness coach Raymond Verheijen has the stuck the boot in - and called for the Frenchman to start taking some responsibility for Arsenal's problems. The Chilean worldwide has played in majority of Arsenal's matches of the English Premier League so far.

Wenger's worst nightmare came true on Saturday when Francis Coquelin limped out of the game at West Brom after only 14 minutes with a knee ligament injury.

Norwich City put a slight dent in Arsenal's title hopes on Sunday.

Norwich caused a few problems with some early set-pieces and Ozil should have opened the scoring for Arsenal when he was picked out in the box by Nacho Monreal.

Wenger puts fearless face on Arsenal injury crisis

Manager Arsene Wenger fears Alexis Sanchez is playing down a hamstring injury that he suffered in Arsenal's draw at Norwich City.

The Christmas period is one of the most hectic parts of the English season, and Arsenal have nine of their best players in the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Koscielny was still in obvious pain as the squad departed Carrow Road to head to the airport as Wenger, who also lost Kieran Gibbs to a calf problem before the game, gave a negative prognosis on Cazorla's knock. I am glad you (the media) are anxious for us.

"How bad it is I do not know, we will have to see in the morning".

Forward, Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny were forced off the game following an injury, with Santi Cazorla also taking a blow to his knee. He barely managed to get any rest after that, when he was thrown into the mix of the domestic season, playing nearly every game in the Premier League and in the Champions League.

"After the game Wenger said he had a slight issue with Olivier Giroud and Hector Bellerin but Sanchez is the most important player of the three and should have been brought off when the game was dead".

Arsenal icon Thierry Henry is among those to have questioned Wenger's choice to not reduce the workload placed upon arguably the club's most influential player, yet his fellow Frenchman insists that the media do not dictate team selection in such circumstances. Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott, Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta are now on the treatment table.

"We played against a Norwich side that was at the top level physically and focused".

"We have three injuries", Wenger told Sky Sports. He featured throughout Arsenal's win over Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, even though the Gunners were comfortably 3-0 in front with 20 minutes to go.

Norwich caused a few problems with some early set-pieces and Ozil should have opened the scoring for Arsenal when he was picked out in the box by Nacho Monreal.

"But I think you nearly don't have to ask him anything if you want to rest him".

The Spanish striker did not look a happy soul when, late on, he realised he was not going to be brought on as a substitute and, turning his back on the bench, tossed his warm-up bib behind him in disgust.

Arsenal's solid left-back Monreal has a tough task in Leicester's Mahrez

Arsenal have an unwelcome task this weekend. Awaiting them at the King Power Stadium for their Premier League fixture against Leicester City is a man who is the joint top scorer in the league with five goals and shares the lead in assists with three. Riyad Mahrez might just be the most in-form player in England right now.

But the man designated to subdue the winger, for whom the cliched adjective 'flying' actually seems appropriate, will give Arsenal reassurance. This was not always the case with full-back Nacho Monreal.

Monreal has quietly become one of Arsenal's most dependable performers. It is quite a rise for a player who was parachuted into the squad on transfer deadline day in January 2013, when it finally became apparent to Arsene Wenger, as it had been to everyone else for quite some time, that Andre Santos had degenerated into the kind of liability Arsenal could not afford to have.

Initially vying with Kieran Gibbs for a starting role, for long periods unsuccessfully, Monreal has established his supremacy over the youth team product this season. Gibbs has played only seven minutes in the Premier League all season -- and that was when he was introduced as an additional safeguard when Arsenal were protecting a 2-1 lead against Crystal Palace.

Once touted as a possible first choice for England, Gibbs has been reduced to the role of a backup club player, fit for Champions League matches against Dinamo Zagreb and a Carling Cup outing against Tottenham but not the more serious business of Premier League matches. His persistent injury problems take some responsibility for this demotion, but so too does the ultra-consistent form of his rival.

Monreal's steady and unspectacular brand of full-back play is unlikely to quicken the heartbeat. If you are looking for positions to upgrade, you'd settle on his fairly quickly, but his reliability has nevertheless been a feature of Arsenal's season to date.

Nacho Monreal has made 61 league appearances for Arsenal and has won two FA Cups with the side.

The Spaniard is never going to give the attacking thrust of Ashley Cole, whose link-up play with Thierry Henry and Robert Pires gave Arsenal the most intuitive and dangerous of left flanks, or even the lung-busting runs of Gael Clichy.

Claudio Ranieri, Saturday's opposing manager, has firsthand knowledge of a time when Arsenal possessed the Premier League's best left-back options, as the Italian is the only manager currently operating in the top flight to have been presented with the challenge of facing Arsenal's Invincibles in 2003-04. This week he spoke of the quality of that famous team that he faced while with Chelsea, notably the defence, in which both Cole and Clichy played a part, the two left-backs both making enough appearances to earn winner's medals.

"When I was at Chelsea, they were the Invincibles," Ranieri said. "That was an unbelievable achievement, so it is surprising they have not won the league since.

"I don't know why Arsenal have had to wait so long, because Arsene Wenger is a good manager, and he brings in good players, but maybe it is not so easy to replace players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Fredrik Ljungberg and all the defenders."

Monreal does not have the same star quality and most likely never will. He is a solid 7 out of 10 rating in his matches, but that is no bad thing in a team that vacillates between the sublime and ridiculous, often multiple times in the same match. There is something to be said for reliability. He is Arsenal's Volvo. And you can't go far wrong with a Volvo.

It took two years to get to the point at which he was regarded as the first choice. As he explained recently, English football took some getting used to.

"The fans like seeing box-to-box play and lots of direct runs, so I think on a physical level I've improved because you have to get used to English football,"he said. "I've certainly got better in that regard."

His progress over the past year is undeniable, and now there is talk that Arsenal are keen to secure Monreal's future with an extended deal at the same time they go about tying down the £42 million, club-record signing Mesut Ozil. It is recognition of Monreal's new elevated status in the squad and a move designed to quell reports linking him with Athletic Bilbao.

If he can do what many Premier League left-backs have tried and failed to so far this season and keep Mahrez quiet on Saturday, it will only further establish his very quiet ascent to essentiality at Arsenal.

Sanchez To Become Arsenal’s Highest-Paid Player

Following his blazing start to the season, Chilean International Alexis Sanchez is in line to become Arsenal’s highest paid player.

This comes on the heels of reports that the London club are preparing talks with the forward over a new deal.

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Sanchez arrived at the Emirates just last year, signing a four-year deal worth a reported £130,000-a-week and plans are currently on-going to ensure an increase on those terms.

READ ALSO: FT: Man Utd 3 – 0 Sunderland, Leicester 2 – 5 Arsenal

If concluded, German International Mesut Ozil – who’s on £140,000-a-week – currently will lose his status as the club’s top earner.

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The German World Cup winner is, however, also in line for a pay rise, while left-back Nacho Monreal is believed to have already agreed a new three-year deal.

Sanchez, 26, has scored six goals and assisted three so far this term and Arsenal are looking to reward his form with a new and improved deal.

He was signed in July 2014 for a fee reported to be around £35 million, making him the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history after Ozil.

Arsenal close in on triple deal for international stars following Manchester United win

ARSENAL are set to offer new contracts to Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Nacho Monreal.

The Gunners are preparing to make Sanchez their highest-paid player after a scintillating first 15 months at the Emirates Stadium, according to the Daily Mail.

The Chilean currently earns in the region of £130,000-a-week but his new terms are expected to see him surpass Mesut Ozil's wage packet of £140,000-a-week.

Sanchez scored 25 goals in all competitions last season following his arrival from Barcelona while he has scored six goals in his last three games for the club.

** STARSPORT LOOKS AT ARSENAL'S TOP 20 SIGNINGS OF ALL TIME **

BIG MONEY OFFER: Alexis Sanchez could become Arsenal's best paid player

END SPECULATION: Ozil will also be offered a new deal amid interest from Fenerbahce

World Cup winner Ozil is also in line for a contract extension which could see his terms improved.

The German has been linked with a move to Turkish side Fenerbahce at the end of the season but Arsene Wenger is determined to hold on to the midfielder.

Both Sanchez and Ozil's contracts expire in 2018 and Arsenal do not want them entering the final two years of their deals.

DEAL AGREED: Monreal is reported to have already agreed a new three-year contract

Meanwhile the Mail also claim that left-back Monreal has already agreed a new three-year deal to extend his stay in North London.

The Spain international joined the club in 2013 from Malaga but had been linked with a return to his homeland with Athletic Bilbao interested in signing him.

Monreal has established himself as Wenger's first choice left-back ahead of Kieran Gibbs and he now appears to have ended speculation over his future with the new deal.

Arsenal currently lie second in the Premier League after beating Manchester United 3-0 before the international break and face Watford on Saturday.

Nacho Monreal gushes over Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal resurgence

Nacho Monreal has lavished praise on Arsenal teammate Alexis Sanchez as his resurgence continued in Sunday's 3-0 win over Manchester United at the Emirates.

Two goals from the Chilean, either side of Mesut Ozil's second, saw them romp into a healthy lead inside 20 minutes yesterday in a win that put them second in the Premier League table.

Sanchez brought his total for the season to six, with the previous four coming in the last eight days following a sluggish start from the Gunners' Player of the Year last term.

"Last year he showed what an important player he is for the team," the Spanish left-back told the club's official website. "He scored 25 goals in all competitions and this season he has started really well.

"In the first games, he couldn't score goals but now he's scoring goals. We need Alexis to score more goals and we are happy for him because he's a really important player for us.

"When he's fit, the level of the team is higher, so we are really happy."

Arsene Wenger's men sit two points behind Manchester City heading into the second international break

Joy for Arsenal as star agrees three-year contract

NACHO MONREAL has reportedly agreed a new three-year contract with Arsenal.

It emerged last month that Gunners chiefs were in talks with the 29-year-old and the Daily Mailclaim a deal has been struck.

Spanish side Athletic Bilbao were linked with left-back Monreal in the summer but a move failed to materialise.

Bilbao made their interest in the Spaniard known but Arsene Wenger refused to sell.

Monreal joined Arsenal from Malaga in 2013 for £8.5m.

He initially struggled for first-team action with Kieran Gibbs being the preferred option but has gradually established himself at the Emirates and has not missed a minute in the league this season.

His current contract expires in 2017 so the new deal will keep him in north London for a further season.

Mikel Arteta's future is less clear with his deal expiring at the end of the campaign.

A decision on whether to offer him fresh terms will be made later in the season.