Source: Telegraph
Arsenal's Jack Wilshere in Carling Cup row but Arsène Wenger sees and hears nothing
Di Matteo was incensed with Wilshere's conduct in Tuesday's tie at the Emirates when Thomas – who used to play for Arsenal – was sent off for shoving his hand into Wilshere's throat just before half-time.
West Brom had been the match of Arsenal's youngsters to that point, even creating the better chances, but the tie turned decisively towards the home side after the Championship side were reduced to ten men.
Moments before, Thomas had clattered into the back of Wilshere in what looked a robust but far from malicious challenge as they contested a loose ball, leaving the England under-21 international laid out on the pitch.
The pair were then seen to exchange angry words before Thomas lashed out, leaving referee Lee Mason with little option but to brandish a straight red card.
Wenger's selective sight when his players are involved in controversy is well known but the Frenchman added deafness to his list of touchline ailments, speaking with his tongue firmly in his cheek.
"I don't know what happened," he said. "My eyes are not great and my ears are even worse!
"I couldn't hear anything from the touchline. But I don't know. It looked like Thomas responded, reacted, and in these cases you always need to control your nerves.
"Has he any excuses or not, I don't know. But Jack was upset as well. He said he was kicked."
Di Matteo, too, accepted that Thomas' violent reaction to Wilshere's behaviour made his dismissal inevitable but was equally certain in where the blame laid for the incident.
"My player went to shake the Arsenal player's hand and he refused," he said. "There was an exchange of words, and then there was a reaction.
"I'm disappointed that Wilshere didn't accept his hand. He wanted to help him get up, actually. He's a fellow colleague. But, anyway, that's part of the game.
"I'm very proud of my players and my team. I'm not disappointed in my player. There was an exchange of words and he reacted. He reacted to what was said, something insulting."
