Wenger blames referee for loss
STOKE-ON-TRENT: Arsene Wenger believes his side does not receive its fair share of penalty decisions, a view he claimed was demonstrated in their 1-0 Premier League defeat at Stoke City.
The Arsenal manager was left beaten by an early second half goal from Stoke’s new Spanish forward Jese.
But, while accepting that his side had not performed well, the veteran French manager was also left fuming by two failed penalty appeals -- for a handball by Kurt Zouma and foul by Mame Diouf. “We don’t get penalties, we know that,” said Wenger.
“I can get the numbers you will see. Look at the statistics. We had the highest penalties against us at home by a mile and the lowest number for us.”
To add to the manager’s bad mood, he also saw a second half “equaliser” by record signing Alexandre Lacazette ruled out for offside — a decision by referee Andre Marriner which television replays suggested had been correct by a matter of millimetres.
“I watched it, it’s not offside at all,” said Wenger. “Even his foot was not offside but we have to swallow that. We should have scored and it’s just another detail that didn’t go our way.”
Wenger also confirmed that Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez, who trained with the team in London on Friday, will be available for their next game, Sunday’s visit to Liverpool, after being linked with a potential move away from the club.