Arsenal could only manage a draw against Fulham on Saturday as they move up to sixth, in the English Premiership table.

Speaking after the game, manager Arsene Wenger explained that the players showed signs of fatigue as they created a number of goal-scoring opportunities but only managed to score one goal against a stubborn Fulham side.

Asked if fatigue is a concern, the Arsenal boss declared that it should not be an excuse for the scoreline as he explained that centre-back Per Mertesacker was replaced because one more midfielder was needed to find the equalising goal.

And on Tuesday’s game against Manchester City in the Carling Cup, Wenger concluded by confirming that players will be rested with back-from-injury Abou Diaby, Ju Young Park, Yossi Benayoun and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all set to feature against Roberto Mancini’s side.

After the Fulham game, Wenger said:

[Converting just the one chance?] Maybe [it was down to] the sharpness of the mind, mental fatigue and a bit of physical fatigue as well.

We haven’t recovered completely from the Champions League game – that happens sometimes.

But we still had the potential to win 1-0 and if not 2-0 because early on in the game we could have scored.

Maybe once or twice we were offside when we should not have been. We also lacked a bit of accuracy in our passing.

[Fatigue?] It is a punctual problem because we gave a lot on Wednesday night. It is the shortest time you can get Wednesday night to Saturday afternoon.

But it is not an excuse. It is an explanation. We want to be in the Champions League so we cannot cry when we are tired. Our challenge is to win these kinds of games even when we are tired.

[Why Mertesacker was replaced?] I wanted one more midfielder to play out from the back and create the difference. It was an offensive-minded decision.

[Rotation for Tuesday's game?] I will have to. Some players are on the fringe muscle-wise.