Manager Arsène Wenger today criticised the performance of referee Mike Dean after his team’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United today.
Arsenal had taken the lead through Andrey Arshavin but a Wayne Rooney penalty and an Abou Diaby own-goal saw United come from behind to win the match.
In the dying minutes of injury time, striker Robin van Persie had a goal disallowed for offside and Wenger vented his frustrations by kicking away a water bottle on the pitch, resulting in him being sent off by Dean.
Six Arsenal players were also booked, in contrast to only 3 from United, a ratio that according to Wenger was unfair due to the physical approach from United’s players.
Wenger said: “”I kicked the bottle of water when the goal was canceled from disappointment and the fourth official called the referee and sent me off. Frankly, I don’t know what to say. Thirty seconds to go. It was really spectacular.
“I didn’t even know where to go. He told me to go into the stands, but there was no way to get into the stands. Just because I kicked a bottle of water, I didn’t say a word to anybody. It was quite a good kick.
“You know what you get at Old Trafford when you come – every time – but I do not want to go into the performance of the referee. Any questions you should ask him.
“I believe you should look at the game and who played with real spirit on the pitch today. I felt we played with the right spirit.
“It’s difficult to judge every time someone goes down. Today I’ve seen a player make 20 fouls and there was no yellow card. Nobody sees it.
“If you’ve seen the game you don’t need me (to tell you who this player is). How this player got away without a yellow card is quite amazing.
“We go home with no points and that is very frustrating. When you play like that to go home with no points is very difficult to accept.
“But I’m very positive because we showed great quality. Our performance is very encouraging for the future and there are more positives than negatives from today’s game.”
