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Well no shit Sherlock. Arsene “I didn’t see it” Wenger is well known for being how shall we put this, ever so slightly one sided in his views (possibly only matched by Liverpool’s Spanish Waiter), but when he talks about the game at Old Trafford on Saturday he may actually have a couple of points.
First of all where was Wenger wrong in his opinions? For a start the penalty that Manchester United got. There was nothing “Old Trafford’ish” about that penalty. I’d love to know what percentage of penalties given away in the Premier League are of the result of keepers coming flying out with not a chance of playing the ball. Almunia on Rooney was just another one of them, clear as day and it would have been given as a penalty 99 out of 100 times. There’s also the constant moan from the Arsenal manager about the over physicality of English football. You’ve got to be joking me right? It’s become as pansified as an European league and if Arsene doesn’t like it then he knows what he should do, I’m sure there are plenty of teams in the dive happy Italian Leagues that would have him.
So what was Wenger right about? The tackle by Fletcher on Arshavin. That was as clear a penalty as you’d get, when you looked at the replay that was. The trouble is the refs don’t have video replays and I must admit that when I first saw it live it looked as if Fletcher played the ball. It was clearly not the case though and that should have definitely been a penalty. The fact that Arshavin scored a few seconds later doesn’t matter, they should have had a penalty. The other thing that Wenger was right to be angry about was his own sending off at the end of the game. Premier League refs just love to justify that “professional” wage bill and now it looks like the fourth officials are getting in on the game. The decision to send Wenger to the stands (or wherever the hell he ended up) for kicking a water bottle was a disgrace. The fourth official in this case should be suspended from duties for a month and find a months salary. If you want to make a name for yourself and get on the TV by making stupid, irrelevant decisions then there should be a penalty involved. After all they are supposed to be “professionals”.
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