Arsene Wenger confirms broken nose for Francis Coquelin after Everton win

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Francis Coquelin has broken his nose in a collision with Olivier Giroud in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton at the Emirates on Sunday.

The Gunners, coming here on the back of a 3-1 mauling at the hands of Monaco in midweek, had a point to prove and did that emphatically with Giroud and Tomas Rosicky getting their names on the scoresheet.

The result means that the Gunners are back in third position, leapfrogging Manchester United, who had initially taken the lead with their win over Sunderland on Saturday.

However, the win came with its pitfalls, with the Gunners unlikely to start Coquelin in their crucial trip to Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday, which is expected to be a difficult evening for the north London club.

Wenger is already without his triumvirate of Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere and Coquelin's absence will force him to bring back Mathieu Flamini, whose performances thus far this season has failed to garner any confidence.

Coquelin, on the other hand, who was on loan at Charlton, has been a breath of fresh air for the north London club and has slotted in seamlessly into the defensive midfield position Arsenal were found starkly lacking in.

"Yes Coquelin has broken his nose," revealed Wenger.

"I don't know [how long he will be out], I hope not. I don't know whether he will need surgery or not.

"They told me he was bleeding but that he could stay on. The second time he was hit again so after that I had to take him off. I had been told by the medical people that he could stay on.

"He wanted to stay on. He didn't play here for a long time so now that he plays, of course he doesn't want to come off the pitch," he concluded.