Arsene Wenger thinks England's European Championship campaign will effectively be over if they lose to France in their opening game next Monday.

The Arsenal manager, who believes his native France could win Euro 2012, also described Roy
Hodgson's appointment as a 'quick fix' and claims the Three Lions will struggle in Poland and Ukraine due to Wayne Rooney's suspension for the first two games.

England arrived in Poland yesterday with arguably the lowest expectation levels surrounding the national team in recent history.

Obstacle: Arsene Wenger says if England lose to France they are essentially done for

The controversy that followed Rio Ferdinand's omission, Rooney's suspensions, a spate of injuries to key players, and the fact Hodgson has been in place for a matter of weeks have left the country largely pessimistic about the Three Lions' chances.

Hodgson takes his patched-up team to Donetsk to play their Group D opener against France on Monday and Arsenal boss Wenger fears the Three Lions may as well pack their bags and come home if they lose to Laurent Blanc's men.

'The opening game is England v France and there is no Rooney. You would say that is a game that you can not afford to lose," Wenger told Arsenal's website.

'Why? Not because you cannot catch up, but (because) the pressure inside the country becomes tremendous straight away.

'That game could dictate the whole group. If it's a 0-0 draw, the group is all open, but if someone
loses they have a very good chance of going out because Ukraine will beat one of the two, you would say, and Sweden are a hard team to beat.

'They are always well-organised tactically and they have (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic coming back, who can make a difference.

'They are traditionally a difficult opponent for England. It's a difficult group overall.'

Hodgson took charge of England two weeks ago after beating the bookmakers' favourite Harry Redknapp to the job.

Wenger admires the former Fulham and Liverpool manager, but admits he is facing an uphill battle to build a team capable of progressing from their group and going far in the tournament.

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