Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claims Manchester United tried to kick Arsenal out of their stride by playing ”anti-football” in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Gunners.
Wenger was infuriated by the way United set out to disrupt Arsenal’s smooth passing game by flying into tackles with aggressive intent.
Although Arsenal collected six bookings and United were only shown three yellow cards, Wenger hinted that the champions’ approach was a stark contrast to his own purist principles.
The French coach seemed to be particularly angered by United midfielder Darren Fletcher’s challenges, but stopped short of accusing the Scot by name.
”I have seen a player who plays on the pitch only to make fouls,” he said. ”For me, this is a point that is more urgent than diving.
”The players who are never punished, who get out of the game without a yellow card. I think it is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did.
”Look at how many deliberate fouls some players get away with.
That’s a bigger problem because it cuts the flow of the game. And people pay to see football, not free-kicks.”
Asked if he was referring to Fletcher, Wenger just laughed and said: ”Why do you say the name?”
Fletcher insisted he had done nothing wrong and was just playing his normal game.
”I enjoyed the challenge of going up against Arsenal in a big game,” he told the Sun on Monday.
”I did what I normally do — made some tackles, got about the opposition, no different to any other game.” — Sapa-AFP