Be wary of referee, Wenger tells players
Arsenal have just emerged from one refereeing controversy, with Mark Halsey having overturned a penalty awarded against them at Fulham last Saturday.
Wenger does not want his players to be involved in another controversy against PSV Eindhoven at Highbury. After all, he was watching on television last week, when bank director Messina sent off David Healy, Robbie Savage and Michael Hughes in the tempestuous 2-2 draw at the Millennium Stadium.
“You have to be cautious as he looked like he sends off players easily,” observed the Arsenal boss.
Wenger meanwhile, insisted that while Halsey had said he was influenced by the Arsenal players’ reaction to the penalty awarded at Craven Cottage, it would not set a dangerous precedent.
“I don’t believe it will become a common way to handle things.
“On every penalty that is given, you always have a reaction from the team trying to change the referee’s mind. That’s quite automatic. I don’t believe it will change a lot. Most of the time, the referee will stick to his decision. That’s quite right. But this shows that referees can change their minds as well,” he said.
As to his players’ reactions, Wenger added: “We did (influence the referee), I don’t deny that. But the referee came out in an honest way. He had a doubt in his mind and it became bigger when he saw our players’ reactions, although the one who really changed his mind was the linesman.”
Wenger is hoping Jose Reyes can emerge as the final piece in Arsenal’s Champions League jigsaw as he attempts to live up to the huge expectations surrounding his record-breaking side.
Reyes struggled to adapt to English football last season, saying he had almost been scared back to Spain by his difficult first few months.
“When we made some tests on the first day he arrived, it was snowing and freezing out there,” said Wenger.
“But I told him it wasn’t always like that, even in England. He caught the worst day of the winter. He also struggled to learn the language and then it’s difficult. But we have a Spanish colony here now, with Manuel Almunia and Cesc Fabregas also in the first-team squad,” he said.
While Reyes was brought to Arsenal to play up front, he has been operating on the left flank so far this season.
His position against PSV could depend on Fredrik Ljungberg’s fitness, with the Swede a doubt with a back injury. Wenger’s priority is to ensure his side start their group campaign better than last season, when they were beaten 3-0 by Inter Milan and took just one point from three games.
“We rushed a bit into the Champions League, we thought we had to make the difference quickly and we forgot the basics. Is the Champions League a holy grail? Not for me. It is presented like that but if you approach games in the right way, then you will normally win what you deserve to win,” he said.
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