Seventeen-year-old Theo Walcott quickly made a mark on his Premier League debut, setting up Arsenal's equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on the opening day of the season on Saturday.

Arsenal were in danger of losing their first match at the new Emirates stadium after falling behind to Olof Mellberg's 53rd-minute goal but Gilberto Silva levelled in the 83rd from a cross by the livewire Walcott.

"I know a lot is expected from him but I am pleased," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger of Walcott.

"He had that sharpness that we missed and was dangerous on the left flank. He was involved in the goal and his overall performance was very positive," Wenger told BBC Sport.

"It was a typical beginning of the season game where the players were not completely ready physically," added Wenger, who was critical of the timing of a spate of international friendlies in midweek.

Wenger said the friendlies had disrupted his preparations for the start of the season "massively".

"It is very difficult to take on board that you're in pre-season and your players are away," he said.

"We had seven players who played far away and when they come back it's very short to prepare and there's a real conflict between the importance of our game today and the ridiculous importance of the national team games."

Wenger slams Domenech

Wenger hit out at Raymond Domenech after the France coach played Thierry Henry for the full match against Bosnia.

Wenger was furious Domenech did not bring his talismanic striker off during World Cup runners-up France's 2-1 win, especially with the game coming so soon after the tournament which ended last month.

"It's disrespectful," Wenger said.

"When you rest the players and give them extra holiday because they have been at the World Cup and then they take those players on a friendly and play them for 90 minutes... I find that provocative."