Wednesday 5th November 2008
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has accused Stoke defenders Rory Delap and Ryan Shawcross of deliberately injuring

Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor.

Both were hurt by tackles during the Potters' 2-1 win at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday and will miss Wednesday night's Champions League clash against Fenerbahce at the Emirates Stadium.

Walcott has a chance of recovering from a shoulder injury in time for the visit of Manchester United on Saturday but Adebayor is unlikely to be able to face the champions.

Wenger said: "I read that my team were not brave.

"All I can say is they are brave and, for me, you need to have more courage to play football when you know that someone is tackling you from behind without any intention to play the ball.

"The only intention is to hurt you and I can show some tackles where I can prove what I say. The one who is tackling is not the brave one. For me the brave one is the player who is trying to play football.

"It happened at the weekend. Do you think Delap tried to play the ball when he tackled Walcott? Or that Shawcross tried to play the ball when he tackled Adebayor off the pitch. All the players have been injured deliberately.

"I am not ready to listen to things that are completely untrue and make people who are cowards, for me, look brave."

The Frenchman was also adamant it was not the first time opponents had hurt his players with reckless challenges, with the badly-broken leg Eduardo suffered against Birmingham last season the most notable example.

Defender Bacary Sagna was also hurt against Stoke and had been receiving treatment on an ankle injury in a bid to be fit for Wednesday.

Wenger added: "Do you want me to tell you the players we have lost here? Diaby, deliberate foul from behind, Rosicky, deliberate foul, Eduardo, deliberate foul. Now we lose Walcott, deliberate foul, and we have lost Sagna - deliberate foul on him."

Wenger's side sit top of Champions League Group G having beaten Fenerbahce 5-2 in Istanbul following a four-goal demolition of Porto in north London.

The Frenchman was keen to wrap up qualification to the next stage as quickly as possible so he could concentrate on keeping his best players ready for Premier League action.

He said: "I believe that once you qualify in the Champions League you can be completely focused and if needed, rest some players in the Champions League.

"That is why for us, it is important to qualify as quickly as possible, especially as we didn't win our last game. We had two bad experiences recently and that is why it is important to come back to winning ways and to qualify."

Captain William Gallas also misses out on Wednesday but could return from his hamstring injury in time for the United game. Emmanuel Eboue's knee problem makes him a less likely weekend returnee however.

In contrast to the Gunners, Luis Aragones' Fener lie bottom of Group G having collected only one point so far.

The visitors will have to do without Alex on Wednesday after the captain sustained a right thigh strain at the weekend.

Emre Belozoglu (hamstring) and Onder Turacy (ankle) also remain sidelined for the Turkish side.

Uruguay defender Diego Lugano and Turkey attacking midfielder Selcuk Sahin are a booking away from a suspension.