Wenger fumes after horror Ramsey injury

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STOKE, England, Feb 27, 2010 (AFP) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists the horrific injury suffered by Aaron Ramsey at Stoke on Saturday shows that his team are not being protected enough.

Ramsey was stretchered off with an oxygen mask midway through the second half of Arsenal's 3-1 win following a late tackle by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross, who was sent off and left the pitch in tears after seeing the extent of the injury.

It is the third time Wenger has seen one of his players face a career-threatening injury as a result of a rash tackle.

Croatia forward Eduardo was sidelined for a year after suffering a shattered ankle in a challenge with Birmingham's Martin Taylor, while Abou Diaby was also ruled out for months following an ugly tackle by Sunderland's Dan Smith.

"I'm very proud and of course very sad because of what happened. We know it's a bad injury. We have to transfer Ramsey to London to see if he needs emergency surgery," Wenger told Sky Sports.

"We don't know how long he will be out but it's certainly a long term.

"I'm not very happy with the tackle. We know what we are expecting, a battle everywhere, but we have now lost three players on horrendous tackles and I refuse to believe it's always coincidence.

"I don't believe it when you are hit as many times as we are. I just believe in what I see and when you see a player getting injured like that it's not acceptable. Commitment is right, but that is not right.

"All the questions I get in press conferences about we don't fancy the physical side of it, that's the result."

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas also believes Arsenal have been victims of their reputation as a team that can be roughed up.

"In five years I've seen three of them, Abou (Diaby), Eduardo and now Aaron. What can I say. It's difficult," Fabregas said.

"You could say we are not protected enough. We are sometimes victims. I'm not complaining, football is like that.

"There are things that are a little too much but three times in five years is a little bit too much.

"It's very difficult to stand up but we showed character and knew if we won we still had a lot to say (in the title race)."

Even though several Arsenal players were clearly stunned by the injury, they managed to regain their composure to secure a win through Fabregas's 90th minute and an injury-time third from Thomas Vermaelen.

The result moved Arsenal within three points of leaders Chelsea and Wenger admitted he was delighted with his side's spirit.

"I'm proud of our game because it was an unbelievable battle from the first minute. We needed to be tough and resilient to win," he said.

"We could see the team was shocked but this team is very strong mentally and we will do it for Ramsey as well because he deserves it."