Arsene Wenger laments injuries after international breaks

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he is resigned to having players return from international breaks with injuries.

The Gunners will be without forward Theo Walcott and defender Laurent Koscielny for their Premier League clash at Norwich City on Saturday, the duo having picked up knocks while on international duty.

"That's a price to pay for the fact that you have many international players," said Wenger on Arsenal's official website.

"We had two players here. Everybody else was away. Statistically, you will lose one or two during these international breaks.

"This time we lost Koscielny [and] Walcott. Everybody else came back [without injury]. This is the period where you start to have injuries."

Arsenal are currently seventh in the league table with 12 points from seven matches, seven points behind leaders Chelsea.