The England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, was in bright form as Arsenal initiated the proceedings at the Emirates against last year’s relegation-threatened Aston Villa. The lively Oxlade-Chamberlain provided the cross from the left hand side which was swept in by Olivier Giroud to give Arsenal the lead in the sixth minute of the first half.

However, that was the only positive part of the match for Wenger as he saw his side throw away their early lead and slump to a 3-1 loss due to goals from Benteke (2) and debutant Luna. To add insult to injury, left-back Gibbs had to be replaced by Jenkinson in the first half with a gash on his head, and even Cazorla replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain for the start of the second half.

The 20-year-old damaged his knee and was withdrawn at half-time as a precautionary measure. However, according to Metro, Oxlade-Chamberlain left the stadium on crutches amid fears that the midfielder could be out for around three months.

A lengthy lay-off for the former Southampton player could be potentially fatal for Wenger as his side are really up against the wall after their opening day defeat at the hands of the Villans. There were subject to a loud chorus of boos at the full-time whistle as well as repeated chants that suggested Wenger ‘doesn’t know what he is doing’, subsequently calling for money to be spent in the transfer window.

Only 20-year-old Yaya Sanogo has been bought into the club so far, with the new financial firepower of Arsenal still to show fruition. If Oxlade-Chamberlain is out for a considerable amount of time, Wenger will really have to dip in the transfer market in order to buy potential replacements.

The pacy wide-man is definitely out of Arsenal’s crucial Champions League play-off qualifier away to Fenerbahce on Wednesday night and is a major doubt for England’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine next month.