Audio By Carbonatix
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to condemn Eduardo after the striker was accused of diving in the Champions League win over Celtic at the Emirates.
There appeared to be no contact between Eduardo and Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc but referee Manuel Gonzalez still gave a penalty that Eduardo converted.
Following the 3-1 win, Wenger said: "I do not go as far to say Eduardo dived.
"He went down, for what reason I do not know. Having seen it again on television, it doesn't look a penalty."
The Gunners boss added: "I believe really that it was not a penalty but I am also not sure that the keeper didn't touch him with his right knee, having seen it again.
"I do not think he (Eduardo) would have complained if the penalty was not given.
"Is it acceptable? I never asked in my life any guy to dive to win a penalty but sometimes the players go down because there is no other way to escape the tackling of the keeper. Sometimes they dive."
Wenger attempted to shrug off controversy by claiming that the Gunners were the dominant side as they booked their place in the group stages of the competition.
"I must still say that we were likely always to score the first goal because Eduardo had a great chance before the penalty," he said. "We always looked in control of the game."
He also felt Arsenal had been the victims of dodgy penalty decisions in the past, recalling an incident in the Champions League defeat against Liverpool in 2008.
"We got a penalty two years ago in the quarter-final of the Champions League at Liverpool that made the difference when Ryan Babel dived," said the Frenchman.
"Nobody ever apologised to us. It was a blatant dive and nobody spoke about it."
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray admitted that the penalty was not a key factor in the overall result.
"The referee has given it. But, if the TV pictures show it should not have been given, so be it," he said.
"Over the two legs, Arsenal had more quality and deserved to go through."
The result and performance against Celtic delighted Wenger, who felt it was the perfect preparation for Saturday's Premier League trip to Manchester United.
"We are now in the top, top league in Europe, with all the big names," he said. "Our team here was an average age of 23.9 years. That means if we can get out of the group stage, then in six months we can be even stronger.
"That is what we want to focus on, to continue to improve our team play, the speed of our game and show that we have made big improvements come Saturday. I am happy to go to Old Trafford because it is the first big, big test.
"You want always to have a high level of confidence when you go to Old Trafford, we have that at the moment. For us, it is most important to recover physically because Manchester United did not play in the League Cup tonight."
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Bills Micro-Credit suspends officers over altercation with customer, hands them over to police
26 minutes -
Court jails foreign national 5 years after GH¢1.9m & US$191k fake currency conviction
44 minutes -
E.P. College of Education raises alarm over infrastructure deficit
1 hour -
Hamas urges key ally Iran to halt attacks on Gulf states
2 hours -
Trump urges UK and other nations to send ships to help secure Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks
2 hours -
Ken Ofori-Atta eyes US residency as Ghana seeks his extradition over corruption allegations
2 hours -
JoyNews’ Kwetey Nartey selected for 2026 Stigler Center Journalism Fellowship
2 hours -
Bills Micro-Credit probes viral altercation involving field officers and woman carrying baby
3 hours -
Ghana, Russia review bilateral ties, explore new areas of cooperation
3 hours -
Spintex Burglary: Police arrest suspect, recover stolen cash and valuables
3 hours -
Drug suspect arrested after attempting GH¢20,000 bribe to police in Tamale
4 hours -
Police arrest 10 suspects in anti-drug operation in Tamale
4 hours -
IRC Ghana, Ahafo RCC hold RLAP meeting on sustainable rural water infrastructure and management
4 hours -
Gov’t to ban gas cylinder importation – Energy Minister
4 hours -
There’s nothing wrong with Mahama travelling with his brother’s jet – Inusah Fuseini
5 hours
