MONACO STILL AFTER WENGER Monaco still want Arsene Wenger to return to the club, despite the Frenchman only signing a new contract with Arsenal in May Advertisement

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Mesut Ozil heard a crack in his ruptured left knee before half-time in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on October 5.

The Arsenal midfielder bravely battled through the pain barrier and played the full 90 minutes before German team doctors confirmed the full extent of his injury when he reported for international duty.

In an exclusive interview with beIN Sports, which will be broadcast on Thursday and again on Saturday, Wenger said: ‘He had a little problem just before he went out at half-time. He had a little pain with his knee, he felt a crack.

Mesut Ozil heard a crack in his left knee during the first half at Chelsea, Arsene Wenger has revealed

Ozil has been ruled out until 2015 with the ruptured left knee injury - adding to Arsenal's injury concerns

Wenger has been overseeing training with a reduced squad due to the injury problems the club have

ARSENE'S INJURY WOES Olivier Giroud - ankle - three months Mesut Ozil - knee Injury -three months Mathieu Debuchy - ankle - two months Laurent Koscielny - achilles - three weeks Aaron Ramsey - hamstring - two weeks Yaya Sanogo - hamstring - Close to return Mikel Arteta - calf strain - Close to return Serge Gnabry - knee - Close to return Theo Walcott - knee - Close to return Nacho Monreal - back - Close to return Advertisement

‘I said to our physio to keep an eye on him and if there was anything wrong with him, tell me because when you’re 1-0 down, you want to keep your offensive players on the pitch.

‘I am deeply shocked. He wasn’t involved in a collision with anybody.

‘It was just after making a pass with the outside of his foot that he injured his leg so it’s very hard to believe that you can damage your ligament with just making a simple pass and it’s very difficult to take that he will be out for a while.’

Wenger has a lengthy injury list as he heads into this weekend’s fixture against Hull in the Barclays Premier League at the Emirates, but the Arsenal manager insists it is just a coincidence.

He added: ‘I am not a great believer in coincidences but this time it really is coincidence.

Ozil took a lot of criticism for an abject performance on the left wing as Arsenal lost 2-0 at Chelsea

Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas outshone the big-money signing from Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge

‘You cannot say our injuries are preparation mistakes. The big injuries we have are really accidental.

‘Scientifically we are quite good. We have been hit hard after seven games. I would never have thought we would have had so many bad injuries.’

Wenger also apologised to Jose Mourinho earlier in the week for shoving the Chelsea manager during their fiery exchange on the touchline at Stamford Bridge.

And the Arsenal manager claims Manchester City are the stronger team, but admitted the defeat at table-topping Chelsea was ‘traumatic’.

Wenger has apologised for his touchline spat with Jose Mourinho during Arsenal's defeat by Chelsea

But Wenger thinks Manchester City are a better side than Mourinho's men

He also hit back at critics who claim Arsenal do not have a ‘Plan B’ after being left behind in the title race. Already they are nine points behind Chelsea after just seven games and four behind champions City.

The Arsenal chief added: ‘That’s an old, ridiculous debate - I honestly never understand what is Plan A and Plan B and C. It’s a debate of another age.

‘I’ve watched the Chelsea game again and we were guilty of not taking the first chances which were there for us and guilty of making a defensive mistake on their goal, but there was very little between the two teams on the day.

Ozil gets a hug from Chelsea boss Mourinho after the match at Stamford Bridge

‘I think we came out angry and frustrated but also coming that we have an important part to play in this championship.

‘We can only look at ourselves and think if we want to get something out of the big games we cannot afford to make the mistakes we made on the two goals.

‘It was traumatic for me. The way we lost was very difficult to take. The quality of the team is to make the maximum with what you produce on the day and that’s where we failed.’

Wenger agreed that Arsenal had a 'massive' gap to make up on early leaders Chelsea

Wenger also claimed City are stronger going forward as he prepares for Saturday’s clash with last season’s beaten FA Cup finalists Hull.

He added: ‘I believe that maybe going forward, City are a bit more complete.

‘City are more offensive. Chelsea defensively are better but it’s very difficult to say who will be in front but what we want to do is be in front of both of them.

‘It is massive, the nine points (gap) after seven games, I agree completely, but it is not lost.’

Eden Hazard scored from the penalty spot after Laurent Koscielny's foul on the Belgian playmaker

Diego Costa finished a Fabregas pass to send Arsenal to their first league defeat of the season