Bolton manager Owen Coyle has accused Arsenal‘s William Gallas of an “assault” on Mark Davies, while Arsene Wenger has apologised.
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Arsenal 4-2 Bolton
Arsene Wenger: “I am sorry if the tackle was not good, and I apologise. However, to complain that we went on to play, I think that is unfair. The players did not even know what was happening behind them, whether the player has got up again or not. I don’t believe you can kick the ball out every time a player is down when you win the ball. That is why they changed the rules. Remember (against) Everton, I did not think they should have kicked the ball out and it was a much more obvious situation because Denilson went down, they got the ball and might have gone 3-1 up. I said after the game that it was okay. We got some tackles, some big ones, but we had to cope with it. I am sorry if it is a foul, but it didn’t look dirty from outside.”
Owen Coyle: “Clearly it was a foul, and closer to a red card. It was akin to assault and it changed the game. However, the fact is the referee has not seen it, and the lad is prostrate on the ground, and Arsenal being full of fair play as we keep hearing, have carried on and scored an equaliser. That is hard to take. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses, but I have seen red cards for less.”
Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Rafa Benitez: “It was important for everyone here because we had to reduce the gap and stay in the race. I am really pleased with the attitude of the players, we showed character. Normally the last five years we do better in the second half of the league. Everyone knows Liverpool are a good team and it was just a question of time to start winning games and showing our quality. Also now some of them know the race will be with four teams.”
Harry Redknapp: “I thought we could win, so I’m disappointed. It was a great opportunity when you see Liverpool without Gerrard, Torres, Glen Johnson and Yossi Benayoun. We missed Aaron Lennon, he is the one player with pace who can go by someone. He’s been in great form. (On Jermain Defoe‘s disallowed goal) I have got to go and read the rule book for a couple of hours. I didn’t ask the ref, he doesn’t know and neither did the linesman. They probably phoned a friend.”
Alex CHICK / Eurosport
