Angry: Wenger believes people are out to get
Arsenal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5mpzn75kmE
Arsene Wenger has accused English football and sections
of the media of a conspiracy against Arsenal and
applying double standards. Wenger is fuming at the criticism aimed
at William Gallas after his damaging tackle on Bolton's Mark
Davies on Wednesday.
He attacked the readiness of so many to condemn his player while
accepting Stoke's right
to kick the Gunners out of their stride in Sunday's FA Cup
fourth-round tie.
'I am always absolutely amazed that people get away
with that,' snapped absolutely all right. When people say before a
game they will kick you, that shows intent.
'The most important thing is that players like Cesc Fabregas are
protected. You do not come to watch the players who kick him. You
come to watch players like him play football. We must never forget
that.'
Video nasty: Arsene Wenger was unhappy William
Gallas' rash challenge on Bolton's Mark Davies was re-run several
times on Sky Sports News
Wenger has been stung by comments since the 4-2 win
against Bolton, when referee Alan Wiley failed to spot the bad foul
by Gallas on Davies in the build-up to Arsenal's second
goal.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle branded it 'an assault' in the heat of
the moment but back-tracked yesterday and confessed his post-match
comments were 'a bit strong'.
Wenger also hit out at Sky Sports News for showing regular
re-runs of the Gallas tackle while ignoring incidents like one when
Matt Taylor stepped on Fabregas and pulled his hair when the teams
met at The Reebok three days earlier.
'We are all brainwashed by one or two main medias who
decide what we have to talk about,' said Wenger.
'Some incidents they have not picked are sometimes more
important. 'I had no issue with the tackle, I think it was
accidental. I think there was a bit of an overreaction with the way
it was treated. I cannot say all the tackles we got in the last two
games were completely accidental.
'Ask anywhere in the world if Arsenal play fair football and you
will get the same answer in every single country. Look at the fair
play league and Arsenal are top (second, actually).'
Asked if he thought Bolton's tackling had been malicious, the
Arsenal boss replied: 'Of course. On Fabregas alone you had four
clear penalties in two games. At Bolton, they pulled his hair and
stood on his neck.'