Arsenal facing injury crisis for FA Cup final as Arsene Wenger claims Laurent Koscielny red card was 'harsh'

Arsenal could be without Koscielny, Gabriel Paulista and Alexis Sanchez, while Kieran Gibbs, Shlkodran Mustafi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all missed the 3-1 win over Everton

Koscielny saw red for lunging in on Valencia (Getty)

Arsene Wenger believes Laurent Koscielny’s poor tackle on Enner Valencia that earned himself a straight red card early in Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Everton, ruling him out of the FA Cup final, was “harsh” after watching a replay of the early incident.

The Arsenal centre-back was sent-off by referee Michael Oliver without a moment’s hesitation after launching himself into the Everton striker, having been beaten for pace when he broke through the defensive line in the 14th minute. Koscielny’s leading foot made heavy contact on Valencia’s right ankle before the rest of the Frenchman’s body followed.

The resulting scissors motion clearly left Oliver with little option than to send Koscielny off, with the defender now facing an automatic three-match ban that will rule him out of next weekend’s FA Cup final as well as the first two games of the new season, but Wenger wasn’t convinced the tackle deserved a straight red card.

“It looked spectacular but when you watch it again it’s a bit harsh,” Wenger said afterwards. “But what could we do?”

The Arsenal manager may well ask himself the same question when he tries to select his team for the trip to Wembley, with Gabriel Paulista and Alexis Sanchez withdrawn from the game with injury. Gabriel was carried off the pitch on a stretcher after suffering what looked to be a serious knee injury in a collision with Valencia, while Sanchez suffered a hamstring issue late in the game when Everton were pushing for an equaliser before Aaron Ramsey’s delightful, curled effort decided the game.

“Gabriel overstretched his knee, he will have a scan tomorrow and we will see the damage. It honestly doesn’t look too good for next Saturday.”

With Koscielny banned and Gabriel almost certain to miss out, given the pain that the Brazil international was visibly in as he departed, Wenger will likely have to turn to club captain Per Mertesacker to plug the large gaps in his defence.

Both Shkodran Mustafi and Kieran Gibbs missed the encounter through illness and a thigh strain respectively, though Wenger is confident that they should be fit to face the Premier League champions. The likelihood is that Wenger will retain Rob Holding and bring Mustafi back in, with Nacho Monreal switching to centre-back and either Gibbs or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – himself rated as touch-and-go for the final – filling in at left wing-back.