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We didn't lose the title in 2008 at Birmingham, we lost it cos Flamini, Adebayor & Hleb was too busy flirting


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Arsène Wenger admits that Arsenal failed to cope with the fall-out from their trip to Birmingham two years ago - but he is convinced that the class of 2010 would have handled it better. Arsenal were setting the pace in the title race in 2007/08 when they arrived at St. Andrew’s on February 23. They lost Eduardo to an horrific injury in the first three minutes and then lost two points to a stoppage-time penalty against ten-man Birmingham. As the final whistle blew, captain William Gallas sat alone on the pitch in disgust and disbelief. Arsenal’s title challenge stuttered and eventually petered out in the weeks that followed. Unlike many, Wenger does not believe that game was decisive in the title race but he thinks that his current squad has coped better with similar adversity - citing the 3-1 win at Stoke last month after Aaron Ramsey was stretchered off with a double leg fracture. “We did not deal well with that particular incident on the day [at Birmingham], with the situation we faced,” reflected Wenger.“Since then exactly the same happened at Stoke, and we responded in a very strong manner.“But I do not think on that particular day [in 2008] we lost the championship,” he added. “There were much more heavier ingredients, like some players not completely focused. We had players who were at the end of contracts.“We did not lose the championship at Birmingham.”
Nicklas Bendtner is expected to be fit to face Birmingham City on Saturday. The Danish striker was taken off during last weekend's win over West Ham after receiving a kick to his ankle. But that was just a precautionary measure and Bendtner should line up against the side he spent the 2006/07 season on loan with. "He should be OK," revealed Arsène Wenger at his pre-match press conference. "He is not back in training yet because he has an ankle problem, but he will have a late test tomorrow morning and should be available. I have not picked the team yet, but I expect him to be available."The team news for the weekend is that of course we lost Thomas Vermaelen because he is suspended and everybody else should be available who played last week." Meanwhile William Gallas could return to the Club as early as Friday after a persistent calf injury. However the centre back will not be considered for the trip to Birmingham and has also been ruled out of the Champions League Quarter-Final first leg against Barcelona on Wednesday. "He is back today from his rehabilitation and is back in full training I believe tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday," explained Wenger. "But he is too short to be available for the weekend of course and certainly as well for the midweek game. We have to assess him, it is too early to say [whether he is available for Wolves next Saturday]." Long-term absentees Robin Van Persie, Kieran Gibbs, Johan Djourou and Aaron Ramsey are all still unavailable.
Arsène Wenger insists that Arsenal will not hold back at Birmingham – and that applies to his team selection too. The spectre of a glamorous Champions League Quarter-Final with Barcelona looms large with the first leg taking place just three days after Saturday’s trip to St. Andrew’s. And the close proximity of those two fixtures has prompted speculation that Wenger may rest Sol Campbell so he is fresh to face the European champions on Wednesday in the continued absence of William Gallas. It seems a valid proposal – Wenger himself has said that Campbell may struggle to play two games in quick succession at this stage in his career. However, the manager will not let the Barcelona tie cloud his mind when he picks his team to face Birmingham – and that means Campbell will play. “I will pick him for the next game because for me the next game is an important one,” declared Wenger at his pre-match press conference. “I don’t consider Barcelona for the next game. At the back we need to be solid to win this game [at Birmingham]. We fight the whole season to be in there and this is a priority. “I believe my players are very intelligent and if we were distracted it would mean we were not [intelligent]. The best way to prepare for Barcelona is to win the game before. “We have fought like mad until now to be in the position we are in. It’s ten months preparation, fight and work to be where we are in the championship so we want to take advantage of that and win the Birmingham game.
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