However, Arsenal will not be able to carry through with their desire to contest Martin Keown’s sending-off as well as there is no right of appeal against a red card for a professional foul.

That means the defender is still set to miss England’s friendly against Holland next month as he will be serving a two-match domestic ban at the time.

As for Bergkamp’s lunge at Carragher, Wenger insisted that it ‘‘seems bad at first sight but if you really look then maybe he wanted only to impress rather than hurt’’.

The Arsenal boss added: ‘‘A lot of people have seen a bad intent and his foot was high but he didn’t hurt anybody.

‘‘I’ve not seen many players sent off this season without touching anyone. We want an honest opinion and we will accept any decision from the FA.’’

It appears highly unlikely that Arsenal will win an appeal, given that referee Mike Riley made clear after the game that he had sent Bergkamp off for attempting to stamp on Carragher.

The referee insisted: ‘‘The law doesn’t differentiate between whether you make contact or not.’’

Wenger also believes Keown’s red card for holding Owen was ‘‘very harsh’’, but appeals are only possible against red cards for violent conduct or in cases of mistaken identity.

Carragher meanwhile faces not only a police investigation but also the possibility of further FA action, but Wenger believes that the defender’s automatic three-game will suffice because of his public apology.

‘‘I think it’s enough. He had an uncontrolled reaction but a very great reaction just after the game. The way he came out of it does a lot of credit to him,’’ said Wenger.

‘‘You cannot do what he did but I think he knows that now.’’