Wenger criticises Mills 'gamesmanship'
Arsene Wenger told Danny Mills he had picked on the wrong player in trying to rile Thierry Henry as he insisted that the full-back’s display of gamesmanship must be wiped out of football.
Mills’ persistent attempts to put Henry off his penalty backfired when the Frenchman not only converted the spot-kick but then became even more motivated than before to beat Middlesbrough.
Boro’s defence suffered a torrid time in a 4-1 defeat, with Henry completing Mills’ misery when he not only dispossessed him in the final minute but also nutmegged him to derision from the crowd.
Wenger insisted that referee Andy D’Urso should have taken action against Mills with a yellow card for his unsporting behaviour.
Indeed, when asked if that sort of gamesmanship should be allowed, the Arsenal boss declared: “I don’t think so and it’s up to the referee to take action.
“I can understand the trick if it’s not too insistent. The way he did it, however, was a bit too heavy and persistent.
“Thierry was a bit angry after that as you’re under pressure when you take a penalty and I’ve seen people miss penalties because of that.
“But Thierry scored and that’s not the best way to deal with him! Mills had picked on the wrong player.”
Henry could himself have been booked for celebrating his converted penalty right in Mills’ face, while several other players – including England team-mate Sol Campbell – confronted the defender.
Henry told ITV’s The Premiership: “I had a good chat with the referee, who said maybe I shouldn’t have made that reaction but I told him that he could have taken Mills away from my face as he was trying to put me off.
“That kind of thing happens when you play with your friends in the park but I shook his hand at the end of the game. He tried to put me off but the most important thing is that we won.”
Boro and Mills could at least be spared facing Henry again in any of the three cup ties between the two sides in the next 17 days as Wenger is preparing to rest the striker.
Boro boss Steve McClaren nevertheless admitted that Mills had only succeeded in winding up Henry to the point that it actually hurt his side.
“When you make them angry, they get better, so we have to make sure we don’t do that the next time,” he insisted.
“But Henry is a very good player and played very well. He’s capable of doing that to anybody.
“Was it getting personal? I don’t think so. The players don’t like losing but we’ve got to save that anger and take it into our next match against Leicester and the future games against Arsenal.”
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