Wenger Praises Wilshere Showing & Tips Sanchez for Bigger Role Following 'Dangerous' Doncaster Win

Arsene Wenger has admitted he feared that his Arsenal side would shockingly bow out of the Carabao Cup against a "dangerous" Doncaster team.

The Gunners squeezed into the fourth round of the cup competition thanks to Theo Walcott's solitary strike at Emirates stadium, but the north Londoners were made to fight for their passage to the next stage.

The home faithful grew frustrated as Doncaster gave a much changed Arsenal team a good game, and after the match Wenger told the Daily Star that he was concerned the League One side could produce a stunning comeback and almighty upset.

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He said: "Yes that was hard work, credit to Doncaster, they kept going. We started well in the first 35 minutes but we decreased slowly.

"We lost our collective game and couldn't score the second goal, it became more difficult.

"We wanted to score goals we were just lacking. It was a typical cup game. I was concerned, they looked dangerous."

Despite the tie looking ropey at times, Wenger did go on to state that there were positives to take from the encounter.

One such benefit was the return of Gunners outcast Jack Wilshere, who made his first start of the campaign after he impressed as a substitute against FC Koln a week ago.

The 25-year-old has been out in the cold in the capital for much of the past year, and could be set to leave Arsenal as his contract enters its final nine months.

Reports in Tuesday's media claimed that Wilshere wanted boyhood club West Ham to end his Gunners nightmare by signing him in January. However, Wenger chose not to discuss matters relating to Wilshere's future and instead spoke about how happy he was to give the England international a full 90-minute run out.

He added: "You see that in his movement it is natural and after that everybody is looking at him because of course everybody expects him to come back to his best and I wish that as well.

"I wanted to leave him on to give him 90 minutes. Overall it was an ideal game for him to gain confidence and fitness."

Star man Alexis Sanchez also played the full game, and Wenger admitted he believed the Chilean was now ready to play a full part in Arsenal's games moving forward: "For me he needs competition and that's why I left him on the pitch as well. Yes, he should be ready now."