Ref earns Wenger wrath
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was not impressed with referee Lee Probert’s decisions as he reflected on a 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Fulham tonight.
Laurent Koscielny gave the Gunners a first-half lead but the dismissal of Johan Djourou for two yellow cards cost the Gunners, who allowed Steve Sidwell and Bobby Zamora to score in the last five minutes to lose the points.
Wenger told Sky Sports 1 afterwards: “The first yellow (for Djourou), I felt the referee got all wrong.
“And a penalty was not given to Gervinho – I do not know why it was not given.”
The Frenchman continued: “It was a difficult game and after we went down to 10 men...we wanted to keep the score maybe too much and in the end when we were down to 10 there were tired legs.
“We have to cope but it’s difficult to lose a game like that today.”
On the implications of the result on his team’s season – the Gunners are nine points off top spot in fifth position, having played a game more – Wenger added: “It’s a massive missed opportunity, yes, but we have consistent problems to face.”
Asked to elaborate on what the problems were, he added: “Nothing.”
Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, who capped the comeback with an injury-time goal following Steve Sidwell's 85th-minute equaliser, hailed ``hard work and togetherness'' for the rousing finale.
He explained: “We’ve been working hard all season and haven’t got the home results we want but this caps all our hard work.
“My ankle and opposite Achilles have been playing up – I’ve had to have a jab in it to sort it out and hopefully it’s done it for a while.
“We want to do well – the Manchester United game wasn’t like us at home (Fulham lost 5-0)...but the togetherness and resilience of the boys has shown tonight.”
On his own future with the club, Zamora added: “You press guys like to write whatever you want.
“A lot of it is blown out of all proportion – I’ve got a few years on my contract yet.”
Cottagers boss Martin Jol said: “It was amazing...we played ever so well in the second half.
“Sometimes if you can’t score at the right times you end up with a draw but I think in the end the win was deserved.”
On Djourou’s red card, the Dutchman added on Sky Sports 1: “To be fair he could have maybe had a second booking earlier so maybe he (Wenger) didn’t want to see that. I don’t think there’s a problem – a second booking is a red card, that’s a normal thing.
“He could have had a point with the penalty but you can see he (Philippe Senderos) tried to get the ball so it would have been a soft penalty.”
