Arsene Wenger Comments on Alexis Sanchez's Fall into Camera Pit vs. Norwich City

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed Alexis Sanchez's fall into a camera pit at Norwich City's Carrow Road “could have killed him” and even claimed the hamstring injury Sanchez suffered later in the 1-1 draw on Nov. 29 may have come as a result of the fall.

As reported by the Guardian's David Hytner, Wenger was furious at Canaries defender Ryan Bennett, who shoved the Chilean while he was in the air and caused the fall:

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First of all, it’s dangerous to have a camera there. Secondly, he didn’t need to push him like he did. He could have killed him. I think the camera position was absolutely dangerous. When Alexis was pushed it did not shock anybody. Nobody suggested that he could displace his back or his hamstring. The injury can come from that as well.

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Bennett and Sanchez came together near the sideline during the 1-1 draw, and the defender used a lot of force to direct the Chilean away from the ball and into a pit located close to the grass.

Joe.co.uk's Darragh Murphy shared an image of the incident, and the forward was lucky his fall was at least partly broken by a cameraman who was capturing footage of the match at the time:

Per Hytner, Mesut Ozil also nearly fell into a similar pit just before the incident, but the German managed to avoid a fall just in time.

After the match, the London Evening Standard's Patrick Barclay suggested Bennett escaped a red card for the incident, and he hoped the FA would step in:

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The bemused Chilean, rubbing his knee as he disentangled himself from the cameraman and his equipment, seemed to be gesturing that it merited a yellow card, but referee Jon Moss should have shown a straight red for violent conduct. ... Let’s hope the FA have a look at what Bennett did and decide Moss and his assistants missed the incident. They must, in effect, have done, for the referee guided Sanchez back into the action as if nothing untoward had happened.

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While the clash was a dangerous one and Bennett should not have made contact with Sanchez while he was in the air, part of the blame has to go to whoever decided to install a camera pit less than five feet from the edge of the pitch.

When both players are moving at full speed, accidents can happen, and this particular incident could have ended worse had Sanchez suffered a nasty fall.

Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Whether it could have killed him, as Wenger claimed, is debatable, and his suggestion that the fall contributed to Sanchez's hamstring injury is questionable at best. As BBC Sport's Phil McNulty noted, Wenger admitted Sanchez came into the match with a hamstring issue and decided to play him regardless.

The London Evening Standard's James Olley also thought the manager was deflecting a bit:

Per Hytner, Sanchez is expected to miss three to four weeks, while team-mate Santi Cazorla, who also suffered an injury (knee) against Norwich City, will be sidelined for at least four months.

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