• Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City, Premier League

Wenger admits Debuchy injury 'does not look good'

Mathieu Debuchy was stretchered off in the last 10 minutes of Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Manchester City © Getty Images

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fears defender Mathieu Debuchy could face a lengthy absence after injuring his ankle against Manchester City.

Debuchy, who has featured in all of Arsenal's matches this season after joining from Newcastle in a £12 million deal in the summer, was stretchered off in the last 10 minutes of the lunchtime match at the Emirates.

His exit came shortly before Martin Demichelis' header sealed a 2-2 draw for City and denied the hosts a come-from-behind victory.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Wenger said: "Debuchy has a bad ankle sprain. I don't know how long he will be out for, but it does not look too good. They [the medical staff] need more time to assess how long he will be out."

The player himself later revealed on Facebook that there was no break, and that he hopes to be back "ASAP".

Debutant Danny Welbeck also appeared to suffer an injury, hobbling off the pitch to be replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain late on, but Wenger said the striker was only dealing with cramp and that "he should be okay".

Wenger did, however, hint that he felt Welbeck should have done better with an early chance when he was one-on-one with Joe Hart and opted to chip the ball, with his effort striking the post.

Asked whether he felt Welbeck took the wrong option, Wenger said: "Maybe. Thank you for making me think about it."

Danny Welbeck spurned an early chance to score on his Arsenal debut © Getty Images

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Wenger also feels his new striker can improve in other areas but was impressed by his performance, adding: "He did well. I believe that he needs to develop his link play with our players but that is a bit normal.

"It's sad that he couldn't take his chance but overall every time he had an opportunity to find some space he looked dangerous. There are some things to work on with him to integrate him well into our game but I'm happy with his first game."

Meanwhile, Wenger hailed the performance of Jack Wilshere with the midfielder's second half goal bringing Arsenal back into a game that was drifting away from them after Sergio Aguero's opener for City.

Wilshere has been the subject of criticism in recent weeks but Wenger felt he provided the perfect response with his display.

"He's coming back physically to his level where he can be," said Wenger. "Unfortunately it takes time to find that fraction of a second where you feel you can make a difference and it's so important in the modern game to get away from people when you win the ball.

"It looks like today was the first time he found it on a consistent level through the 90 minutes."

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