Wilshere hits out at Ferguson ‘slap’
Blues players ran across the Arsenal six-yard box to celebrate with Martins after he had taken advantage of an error involving Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny at Wembley on Sunday.
Television replays appeared to show Ferguson making contact with Koscielny while he was on his knees after his blunder handed the trophy to Alex McLeish’s side.
England midfielder Wilshere posted on Twitter: “Well done to the Birmingham City player who slapped Koscielny on the head when they scored, very big of you!”
Birmingham’s players had earlier vented their anger at Koscielny for a reckless challenge on Lee Bowyer which earned him a yellow card from referee Mike Dean.
Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky, meanwhile, has urged Arsenal to bounce back from the “big mistake” against Birmingham which cost them their chance of ending a six-year trophy drought.
Although Arsenal are still fighting for honours in the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League, Sunday’s final was seen as the best chance for the club to win a trophy this season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted Koscielny and Szczesny were “destroyed” by the error, but Rosicky insists the club must forget the incident quickly, starting with tomorrow night’s FA Cup fifth-round replay against npower League One side Leyton Orient.
“The big games are decided by who makes the most mistakes, and we made the big mistake,” Rosicky said.
“Obviously we are very disappointed but we have to pick ourselves up immediately. We have a game on Wednesday so we have to perform.
“The season doesn’t finish now. We are still in a good position in other competitions so we have to quickly try to forget this and concentrate on other stuff.’’
Arsenal’s misery at losing was compounded by the news that Robin van Persie picked up a knee injury while scoring the equaliser after Nikola Zigic headed the Blues ahead.
The Dutchman is still being assessed by the club’s medical staff, with Wenger desperate for his star striker not to miss next week’s Champions League clash with Barcelona.
The Gunners are currently in the middle of a gruelling schedule that will see them play eight matches in 24 days and the Arsenal boss thinks that may have played a part in Sunday’s loss.
“We were a bit jaded at the start because we have played so many games,” the Frenchman said.
“It’s a massive disappointment because we produced the performance we wanted.
“We have massive challenges in front of us. The team were unlucky but they will not be unlucky for the rest of the season.
“It is important that the whole team responds in the right way on Wednesday.”
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