Wenger defends Arsenal’s honour and discipline
And if you listen to Wenger there is as much chance of Arsenal starting any trouble when the next installment of the most notorious encounter in English football takes place.
Wenger, who used the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-0 fourth round FA Cup triumph against Wolves to launch a spirited defence of his team’s honour, insists no Arsenal player’s discipline will be found wanting.
“I’m very confident about that,” said Wenger. “We have a team which has committed fewer fouls than any other team in the league. Look at the statistics. And we are the team which are the most sinned against. You should worry about the other teams. We are not angels, but statistically there is no reason to worry about us. We are the fairest team in the league.”
In purely numerical terms Wenger has a case. Arsenal having committed 281 fouls this season which is the lowest in the Premiership. But then Ferguson, who this weekend claimed “My boys don’t misbehave,” could also be said to have a point, considering they are third in the official table with 287 fouls and actually lead the Fair Play league which takes into account yellow and red cards.
Statistics, however, rarely tell the whole story. What does is performance week on week and Wenger, who claimed his side were kicked off the pitch when they played Manchester United in the so-called ‘Battle of Old Trafford II’, admits bitter defeat is partly the reason for Arsenal’s inconsistent form since. That, he insists, is now out of their system.
“I don’t deny the importance of the game, on Tuesday it is a very big game,” he said. “It took us some time to recover from Old Trafford but I feel we are over that now.
“I still feel the winner of this game has a good chance to win the championship. I want us to play well and everything else around the game is not important. What is important is that you see a good football game. But I promise you the only thing we will try to do is give you one.”
At times his words sounded almost evangelical as he chastised the media for ‘making the match into a war.’ It is difficult, however, to recall any media folk throwing soup and pizza at Old Trafford or scraping studs down the knee of Ashley Cole.
Wenger’s sentiments, however, were all designed to strike a reasoned and conciliatory chord, though if his team play as badly on Tuesday as they did in the first half of their cup tie against Wolves then United will win.
It was a strong Arsenal side, containing Thierry Henry, although the prolific French striker is going through an untypically fallow time.
Wolves were tenacious in their industry but utterly devoid of striking quality, though if Glenn Hoddle’s frustration with referee Mike Riley sounded like those of a bad loser then Wenger understood perfectly.
“A manager who is a good loser doesn’t survive a long time in this job,” said Wenger. “I have not met one who is a good loser. A good loser is someone who goes out of a game and is happy to lose. It doesn’t exist in our job. You go into a game every time to win.”
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