ACCORDING TO Arsene Wenger there was something far more worrying about Alan Wiley’s refereeing performance at Old Trafford a fortnight ago than the question of fitness raised by Alex Ferguson.
The Arsenal manager was unimpressed by what he saw as the referee being overfamiliar with certain players, a trait that concerns him in the Premier League.
“On the day that was more shocking,” Wenger said. “The behaviour of Ferguson that the papers made a fuss of was not the shocking point of the day for me. You watch the game again and you will see.”
There have been concerns raised in the past about perceived friendliness between referees and players - the Frenchman identifies a particular problem with current England internationals.
“For referees to do the job in an objective way they have to keep their distances as much as possible. From the players, from the English national players and from the managers. I want them to treat our players exactly the same and there is only one way to do that. To keep their distance with everybody.”
Closer to home, Arsenal meet Birmingham today for the first time since the traumatic events of two seasons ago, when Eduardo’s ankle was shattered by Martin Taylor.
With two points lost when a last-minute penalty was conceded, it was a day perceived by many as the one Arsenal’s title challenge went off course.
It is still fresh in Wenger’s mind. “I still believe that was a big blow,” he said. “It was a shock for the team to see the leg of Eduardo.
“I was very angry. I was a bit excessive after the game maybe against Taylor. I apologised after that but I still think it was a clumsy tackle.”
Fortunately, the Croat has recovered from the incident, although a thigh injury keeps him out of contention today.
Guardian Service
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