Mathieu Debuchy injury: Arsene Wenger says Hector Bellerin is now ready for first-team after revealing Debuchy is out for 'long period'
Debuchy is expected to be out for three months with ankle injury
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Your support makes all the difference.Ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that Mathieu Debuchy will be out for a "long period" so rapid Spanish teenager Hector Bellerin will be accelerated into the first-team.
The Gunners' right-back Debuchy suffered ankle ligament damage in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Saturday, meaning that 19-year-old Bellerin and the versatile Calum Chambers are the only right-backs available.
Debuchy is expected to be out for three months, and Wenger conceded that the French international will be out for a "longer period". Chambers himself missed training today as well, and the manager says he is "50-50" to face Dortmund because of tonsilitis.
But it is not just problems on the right side that Wenger has to deal with, left-back Nacho Monreal will miss the match at the Signal Iduna Park too.
"The Debuchy injury puts us in a position where we do not want more injuries. [But]Chambers can play in different positions and Monreal can play centre-back and we have as well Bellerin, who I think is now ready to play."
Last month Theo Walcott revealed that Bellerin had broken his 40m sprint club record.
Back in 2009, Walcott recorded a time of 4.42 seconds, beating Gunners' legend Thierry Henry's record of 4.82 seconds.
Asked who would win in a race between himself and Henry, Walcott answered at a Q&A session: "Me! Thierry is in his 30s now so I would be very disappointed if I didn’t beat him. I beat his sprint record which Hector [Bellerin] has now broken."
Bellerin has made one appearance for Arsenal - in a League Cup third-round tie at West Brom last season. He came on as a 95th-minute substitute in extra time. Arsenal won 4-3 on penalties after the game finished 1-1.
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