Arsene Wenger confirms Nacho Monreal received a kick against Watford, says injury not serious

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Nacho Monreal's injury is not serious after the defender was withdrawn in the Gunners' 3-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road before the international break. The left-back was replaced by Kieran Gibbs in the 74<sup>th minute.

The Frenchman has already been without the services of his two first choice defenders Gabriel Paulista and Per Mertesacker as the duo picked up injuries during the pre-season. The latter is set to be out of action until the end of this year.

Monreal's injury fears have been played down by Wenger, suggesting the Spaniard received just a kick.

"Nacho Monreal has a kick but nothing major," Wenger explained, as quoted by Arsenal's official website.

Club football will return on 10 September after the international break as the Gunners take on Southampton at home. Monreal can work on his recovery as he has not made it to new Spain manager Julen Lopetegui's first squad to face Belgium and Liechtenstein.

The north London club suffered a defeat in the opening fixture at the hands of Liverpool at the Emirates. It was followed by a goalless draw against Premier League champions Leicester City. The victory over Hornets was Arsenal's first league win of the 2016/17 season.

Mesut Ozil, who started his first match of the campaign, was on the scoresheet along with Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. Wenger was delighted with his side's performance against Watford.

"I think overall the performance was a strong one. Very fluent and a massive first half. We were 3-0 up at half-time and in the second half we still created many chances but we missed something in the final ball, like we did at Leicester," Arsenal manager said.

"We are not capable in the end to maintain completely for 90 minutes exactly the same intensity physically, but overall it's a very encouraging performance and a good win."