Arsene Wenger hit out at referee Lee Probert's decisions after Arsenal's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Fulham.
Arsenal boss not happy after Gunners reduced to ten men in defeat
A furious Arsene Wenger hit out at referee Lee Probert's decisions after Arsenal's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Fulham.
Former Gunners defender Philippe Senderos upended Gervinho in the box but Probert waved away the penalty appeals.
Laurent Koscielny then gave the Gunners a 21st minute lead but the dismissal of Johan Djourou with 12 minutes remaining for two yellow cards cost his side.
First Steve Sidwell nodded home with five minutes to go before Bobby Zamora volleyed home at the death to seal Fulham's win.
Wrong way
"The referee influenced the game in completely the wrong way, in my opinion," Wenger said. "We cannot influence that.
"We had a good first half and in the second half we were tired in the last 10 minutes. We lost the game because we were down to 10 men.
"The first yellow card was not a yellow card. The second yellow card was a foul for us.
"There was a 100% penalty for us in the first half and that is that, plus the fact we did not take our chances in the first half made the difference.
"In the end, I think it was very unlucky to lose a game with 10 men.
"When you see that we finished the game with 10 men, it is very difficult to take and that makes a massive difference when you played 48 hours before. It is too difficult."
Apportioned blame
Wenger also apportioned some blame on Fulham, who he claimed had attempted to get Djourou sent off.
"When Djourou got the first card, every time he intervened they went down to get him a second yellow and he did nothing at all," he added.
"I saw it coming, you know. When they brought on [Kerim] Frei they looked for a second yellow card on Djourou and they got it."
He added: "I do not need to make stories for newspapers. I tell you the game I have seen. I don't care about the rest.
"I just felt that every time Djourou was on the fringe to get the second. You can watch the game [again]."
On the implications of the result on his team's season - the Gunners are nine points off top spot in fifth position, having played a game more - Wenger added: "It's a massive missed opportunity, yes, but we have consistent problems to face."
Asked to elaborate on what the problems were, he added: "Nothing."
