Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger defends Alexis Sanchez over touchline theatrics against Leicester

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Arsene Wenger defended Alexis Sanchez after the Arsenal star comically went down holding his face in a bid to get Christian Fuchs in trouble - when he had actually been hit in the shoulder.

Sanchez was stood a yard from the touchline and trying to block a throw-in from Fuchs, who threw the ball against the 28-year-old in the dying minutes of Arsenal's 1-0 win.

It hit Sanchez in the shoulder but a delayed reaction saw the Chilean tumble to the turf. Wenger, whose side won thanks to a Robert Huth own goal, later accused Fuchs of deliberately trying to hit Sanchez. 

Arsene Wenger has defended Alexis Sanchez's theatrics against Leicester on Wednesday

Sanchez got in the way of Christian Fuchs' throw during the clash at the Emirates Stadium

Fuchs was not about to pull out of throwing the ball despite Sanchez being so close

'In the first two attempts when Fuchs tried to throw the ball in, Sanchez stood next to him and didn’t know he had to be further away,' Wenger said.

'Also the referee did not tell him to move further away.

'After that he got a yellow card because he didn’t accept the rule. I accept that. He was not the required distance.

'The referee or the linesman should have told him. Fuchs was lucky not to get a yellow card because he threw the ball at him on purpose.' 

The Austrian defender chucked the ball into Sanchez's shoulder and it bounced onto his head

Sanchez turned, waited for a few seconds and then fell to the floor catching his face

The Chilean star lay on the ground with his head in his hands after the incident

Sanchez went on Instagram after the match to show off his battle scars

Sanchez later showed off a cut on his lip on Instagram.

Wenger added: 'If you know Alexis he won’t worry about what happened there.'

Asked about the incident, Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare said: 'Christian Fuchs is entitled to take the throw in.

'We were given the free-kick, rightly so.

'It’s down to Arsenal to deal with Sanchez. It's wrong to talk about other players. I need to talk about my own players.' 

And the Chilean was in need of ice to treat his injury at the end of the 1-0 win