It is not in Arsène Wenger’s nature to lie low when the flak is flying. Yesterday, though, as the repercussions from the on-pitch row between Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner rumbled on, the Arsenal manager felt moved to impart his views through a second-hand source, the club website.

Wenger cancelled his normal pre-match briefing before the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium today, but he did tackle the AdebayorBendtner spat. Reading between the lines in cyberspace, he indicated that his warring strikers will be disciplined, at least with the sternest of lectures.

“Disagreements are part of the game and, of course, you want to deal with it internally,” Wenger said. “There is always action taken when it is needed and I believe it is better for us not to talk about it from then on.”

Adebayor appeared to head-butt Bendtner during Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane on Tuesday. Howard Webb, the referee, missed the initial flare-up and, after Adebayor had apologised the next day, the FA issued only a warning to the players.

If Wenger takes the matter farther, by imposing club fines, he still believes that the bizarre dispute could enhance the unity within the Arsenal camp. “We will use this to be conscious of how much every incident, even a minor one, can be interpreted on the outside and that will even improve our togetherness inside the team,” he said.

Theo Walcott may have a role this afternoon, despite playing poorly against Tottenham. However, Wenger dismissed reports that the teenage winger — or any of his young team-mates — would be loaned out. “We are very short,” he said. “We have only 17 players at the moment. The players on the bench at Tottenham should not have been there.”

Arsenal’s fortunes for the week were hardly improved in the African Cup of Nations last night when Kolo Touré, their Ivory Coast defender, suffered a groin injury during his country’s 4-1 victory over Benin in Sekondi, Ghana. Touré had to be substituted on the stroke of half-time.

There was better news for Chelsea, with Didier Drogba on the scoresheet for Ivory Coast.

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