Adams: Crunch time for Wenger

"Then he will look at the statistics he has from the games," said Adams. "He will see which players are in the best shape. For example, he may look at the chart of, say, Robert Pires. He may have run 14 kilometres during the last game and compare it to another midfielder - Ray Parlour for instance.

"If he is deciding between the two for a spot in the team, he will look at those figures. If Robert has run more than Ray, then he will deduce he is in better shape and he will get the nod. He is what I call a physiological manager. He goes a lot on physical shape.

"Other management styles are different. Take Bobby Robson. He may need a player for a game even though he is tired. He has no one else to come in so Bobby will put his arm round him and kind of con him into playing. 'We need you out there,' he will say and players respond to that.

"Kevin Keegan is different again. He is more likely to take the squad to a day at the races.

"Arsene is more into the science of the sport, how to get players out there who are at their physical best. He will look at the games coming up, certainly the next two against Blackburn in the league and Valencia in Europe. He will know he will have Dennis Bergkamp for Blackburn but that Dennis won't be there in Spain so will assess the whole thing, analyse it. That is his style."

Adams, who won four championship medals and three FA Cup winners medals at Arsenal, is familiar with the scenario currently confronting the club.

"If he has a problem this season that he didn't have last season it is that he has so many players fit, so many of the regulars," says Adams. "You could see that in the face of Dennis Bergkamp when he was taken off against Roma. He wasn't having the best game but he wanted to put it right.

"The choice Arsene has now wasn't the case last season. Because of injuries to Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg, it all fell into place for him. On many occasions, there was no choice to make. Now there is. It is a huge challenge for him. Me, I would certainly bring Ray Parlour in. You need players with his grit and determination in vital games.

"Whether Arsenal will come through these four important games, no one can say. But this is a huge man-management moment for Arsene."

Wenger looks likely to be boosted by the return of Sol Campbell against Blackburn on Saturday. The England defender missed Tuesday's draw with Roma because of an Achilles tendon injury, but is expected to be back to replace Pascal Cygan.