Soccer

Walcott and Welbeck bring some cheer for Wenger

Wenger watched from the directors’ box as his team extended unbeaten run to seven

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger clashes with fourth official Anthony Taylor before being sent to the stands. File photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Mon Jan 30 2017 - 01:09

Arsène Wenger said he does not want to judge the judges after serving the first game of a four-match touchline ban at Southampton and that his critics would rather he was “in jail somewhere without any heating”. The Arsenal manager was charged with misconduct by the Football Association after an altercation with the fourth official, Anthony Taylor, at Burnley on January 22nd.

Wenger was given the touchline ban after accepting the charge and was also fined £25,000.

Wenger watched from the directors’ box at St Mary’s as his team extended their unbeaten run to seven matches and he communicated with his assistant, Steve Bould, and his first-team coaches through an earpiece.

“When you score goals it looks good from everywhere,” Wenger said. “It was good to watch, we had a good game, a good dynamic and we were always dangerous against a young Southampton team.”

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Of his touchline ban, he added: “I do not want to judge the judges. I got a sentence and I decided not to appeal to just get this behind me. For those who don’t like me, any sentence will be too lenient. They would like to put me in jail somewhere without any heating in the middle of winter – and that would still be lenient.”

Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick against his former club and Danny Welbeck scored twice as Arsenal eased into the FA Cup fifth round with a 5-0 victory. Wenger believes he has more attacking options at his disposal than previously; he had the luxury of naming Alexis Sánchez among his substitutes at St Mary’s, with Olivier Giroud unavailable through illness.

“You look at [Lucas] Pérez and Walcott and Danny Welbeck, and I have Sánchez on the bench, that exceptional quality,” Wenger said. “For a long time we have not had that offensive quality available. The problem will be to find the right combination and use them well in games, without destroying the balance of the team.”

Arsenal return to Premier League action at home to Watford tomorrow, while Claude Puel’s Southampton travel to Swansea City. Puel is again expected to be without injured his captain, Virgil van Dijk. Guardian service

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