Dennis told to stay at home

Arsene Wenger has told Dennis Bergkamp he will not be involved in Arsenal's Champions League match against Lyon tomorrow.

The Dutch striker, who set up Thierry Henry's winner against Ipswich on Saturday, thought the 1,200-mile round trip to Lyon was a reasonable one and that by leaving at midday yesterday he would be able to link up with the rest of the squad on their arrival this afternoon.

But Wenger called Bergkamp to one side at a light training session yesterday and said he would prefer that Bergkamp stayed behind.

He reasoned that, with the exception of Martin Keown and Silvinho, he would have what would be a near full-strength squad at his disposal.

He did not want to run the risk of Bergkamp picking up an injury which would mean that Nwankwo Kanu would be in line for a place against Chelsea in the FA Cup next Sunday without the benefit of a first-team start since the end of December.

It has yet to be decided who will take Bergkamp's place at the Stade Gerland but the likelihood is that Wenger will field an all-French strike force of Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, with Kanu once again confined to the bench.

Bergkamp still believes Arsenal can reach the quarter-finals and said: "We have a chance. I believe that Real Madrid were in the same kind of position after their first two matches last season but went on to win the trophy. I feel we can be one of the top two that will go through from this group."

Manager Wenger has been reluctant in the past to give Bergkamp the go-ahead for long journeys by road to be involved in European ties, feeling that the player suffers from fatigue on his return.