Arsenal boss refuses to blame striker
Olivier Giroud isn’t to blame for Arsenal’s shock defeat to Dinamo Zagreb last night, according to manager Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman was dismissed in the first-half for two bookable offences, but after the game, Wenger admitted that the referee had a poor game and was wrong to send off the striker.
Giroud picked up the first booking for descent after challenging the refs decision, and he was then dismissed after accidentally kicking a player going for a 50-50 ball.
The Gunners went on to lose the game 2-1 to the Croatian side, but after the game Wenger stuck by his player and refused to blame Giroud for the loss.
Wenger Unhappy with referee
“We were not at our best, but nor was the referee tonight,” he said. “The first yellow card was Giroud’s fault for protesting about a foul given in his favour.
“On the second yellow card he was completely unlucky to touch the guy. I don’t understand the referee. Giroud didn’t see the guy, it was completely accidental. It was not a second yellow, it has to be a foul on purpose.
“It is difficult because we had a lot of the ball and we had early chances but were a bit unlucky.
“The first goal was offside and the sending-off is very harsh. We fought hard to get ourselves back in it.
“It was tough getting back into it after the second goal where we did not defend very well.
“It is not the way we wanted to begin the competition. We gave it our all until the end but unfortunately couldn’t come back.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
