Source: Eurosport
Frustration behind Wenger's 'bottle job'
Arsene Wenger has defended himself against the red card he received in the final seconds of Arsenal's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday night. [LNB] Wenger was sent to the stands by referee Mike Dean after booting a water bottle down the touchline in frustration after Robin van Persie had a last-gasp equaliser disallowed for offside. [LNB] "I just kicked a bottle of water," claimed Wenger. "I did it because I was disappointed, not because I thought it wasn't offside."[LNB] Andrey Arshavin rocketed a shot past a startled Ben Foster before Wayne Rooney converted a penalty after being brought down by Manuel Almunia. Abou Diaby then headed an own goal that ultimately proved to be the matchwinner.[LNB] After his dismissal, Wenger initially headed for the seats behind the dugout, only to find there were not any, and was eventually ushered towards the tunnel as his side suffered a defeat which was very hard to take. [LNB] He added: "There were 30 seconds to go and I didn't know where to go. I didn't know you were not allowed to kick a water bottle, although it was a good kick. We were the better team but we lost the game. It is very difficult to swallow."[LNB] Sir Alex Ferguson was relieved with the victory.[LNB] "Coming back from 1-0 down against Arsenal was a hard task," said Ferguson. "But we got a bit of a break with the own goal and I am delighted with the win."[LNB] Rooney has now scored five goals in five games this season, although Ferguson feels he should hand over his man-of-the-match champagne to Fletcher who, his one indiscretion apart, was superb. [LNB] "Darren was the outstanding player on the field," said Ferguson. "It was a marvellous performance. He always does well on the big occasion. If I had been choosing the man-of-the-match, I would have given it to Darren."
