Arsene Wenger has told his Arsenal players they must pick themselves up for a potential make-or-break run of fixtures which includes games against rivals Aston Villa (Aston Villa 2/1 draw 12/5 Arsenal 13/10 Premier League – match betting), Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Wenger paid the price for making a raft of changes on Sunday when the north Londoners were dumped out of the FA Cup by Stoke.

The defeat means the Gunners must refocus their efforts on  the Premier League – starting at Villa Park against Martin O’Neill’s top-four hopefuls on Wednesday – and Wenger knows there is no time to sulk at the top.

The Frenchman said he did not regret his team selection for the fourth-round clash at the Britannia Stadium and reasoned the next 14 days could go a long way to shaping Arsenal’s season (Arsenal 10/3 Premier League – Outright).

He said: “I do not regret the side I put out, I did not have much choice. We had 10 injuries and a very difficult programme coming up.

“Our selection was simple, take a look at our schedule and you must see we cannot play the same 11 every time. That is for sure.”