Having conceded a controversial late penalty against West Brom on New Year’s Eve, it was tough to swallow another one being awarded against us when we faced Chelsea on Wednesday.
Arsene Wenger was understandably frustrated after the match, and this is what he told the media in his press conference:
on the game…
I think it was a great football game, where we saw fantastic action on both sides and a game where we have shown great mental resources. I knew before the game that the last 20 minutes could be difficult for us, because we have a big disadvantage with the schedule. We got, again, a farcical decision but we knew that as well before, so we have to deal with that. That’s it basically.
on the penalty decision…
I don’t know, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m fed up with that. The referees get away with you, the English press, no matter what they do.
on what he wants to say about his charge…
Nothing at all.
on what he means by ‘we knew that as well before’ in his first answer…
Sorry? I mean nothing. You are always more intelligent than everybody, so you can guess what happens.
on whether he thinks VAR would prevent errors…
I am very sceptical.
on if he has decided to contest his FA charge…
Sorry? 100 per cent. You can listen to every interview I said, and I stick to everything I said without any problem. I am 35 years in football, I know what I say after the game and I stand up for what I said. No problem.
on whether his conscience is clear…
Look, what I find terrible is that we have just seen is a great football game and we talk only about things that are nothing to do with football. At some stage, you stand up in the morning and you say ‘we have seen a great football game’ but you are not interested in that. For me, that would be nice, that at some stage we speak about football again. What are we talking about? It’s nothing to do with football.
on whether managers should just accept refereeing decisions and not complain…
That’s what I do. I have no choice. But you have to say as well that at some stage in football, you have to stand up for the referee’s decisions. But you have to say as well that at the moment, we have to face surprising decisions.
on Petr’s comments after the last game and whether referees are contradicting what is said in meetings with players and managers…
What I am finding is just what I want to tell you. I would love to talk about football, because that is what I love. We have seen a great football game tonight, but what are we talking about? Not about football.
on whether it is frustrating that we are sixth in the table…
That is very frustrating, I agree with you. We have to look at ourselves as well, but still, I think it was a great football game and when you look recently our performances have been top quality. The regret we have is that we have not the results that we could have had. Certainly that is part of our problem, but as well on the other side, you have to say that we have not been gifted this luck.
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