The full-back was taken to hospital for X-rays on his shin after a challenge by Kevin Davies, which earned the Bolton striker a yellow card.

Clichy did not appear in the second half as Arsenal went on to record a 3-1 victory at the Reebok Stadium.

However, the good news for Arsenal was the full-back sustained only bruising to his shin and he was able to join up with the rest of the Arsenal squad for the journey home.

While Wenger admitted he did not see the incident, he said: "It it a shin injury which means the tackle was quite high.

"Was it an accident? Was it mistimed? Only Davies can answer that.

"I did not really see the impact, so I have to watch it on video. We except the physical challenge and we respond well to it.

"We have no problem with a physical game. It is part of the charm of the game but kicking someone is not in the rules."

Bolton manager Gary Megson defended Davies, who opened the scoring with a header in the 14th minute before Arsenal took control.

He said: "It was nothing. Kevin has actually won the ball. It is nonsense to suggest anything otherwise.

"It was a fair challenge, a proper football challenge, and he was entitled to go for the ball. We did not try to intimidate Arsenal, that's a complete nonsense."

Wenger will look on as Chelsea face Manchester United tomorrow and feels his side are in good shape to mount a title challenge.

He said: "It will be interesting again this year. I will watch the game tomorrow with a lot of curiosity. Chelsea have made a good start while you know Manchester United will soon wake up.

"I felt we were very close last year. We were four points behind Manchester United at end of last season and lost only three games.

"Out of those three games we were leading 1-0 with 20 minutes to go. We were really unlucky but we let's go from game to game. The desire is there and I believe in the quality of my team."

Arsenal roared back with Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner scoring two goals in the space of two minutes to turn the game on its head before half time.

While Bolton continued to make a decent fist of it Denilson sealed the victory with three minutes to go.

Wenger added: "I thought it was a convincing, united, classy performance with strengths everywhere.

"We were strong mentally, physically and technically. It was a complete performance.

"Even in the second half when we needed to defend more we showed resilience. There are aspects of our game that make me think the team is maturing very quickly.

"We can always get better, that is the positive thing. We want to improve. As long as your attitude is right, you can go forward. We did not panic after going behind and that is the pleasing thing."