Arsene Wenger has been left fuming after his old buddy Andre Marriner denied Arsenal a penalty during their 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates this weekend.

Arsenal were denied a stonewall penalty on Saturday evening when United’s Chris Smalling slid in on Danny Welbeck in the box. However, Marriner waved play on and Wenger was understandably fuming post-match.

“Last night I watched Napoli v Juventus on TV and we watched a top-class referee,” said Wenger.

“If you want to analyse well, watch the difference between them and us and then you will see. Is it right or wrong?”

Not that Jose Mourinho had any sympathy.

“If it’s not a penalty, it’s not a penalty… I know the pitch is amazing, maybe creates a desire to go to the floor,” the United coach said.

This isn’t the first time Marriner has made a massive mistake during an Arsenal game. In 2014, we had red card-gate when Kieran Gibbs was sent off at Stamford Bridge for a handball Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain committed.

andre marriner wenger
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 02: Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal argues with referee Andre Marriner after during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on December 2, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

We also had the Stoke game in August, when the Gunners should have been given a spot-kick when Mame Biram Diouf tackled Hector Bellerin, which the referee clearly seemed to see but didn’t award. During the same game, Alexandre Lacazette had a goal ruled out for offside, which it wasn’t.

In the 33 Arsenal games that Marriner has been in charge of, the Gunners have picked up two red cards, 44 yellows and have lost nines times. We’ve been handed just two penalties and I’d be really interested to see how many we should have been given.

While I get that Wenger trashing the referee post-match has become a bit of a joke among opposition fans, we really do need some consistency across the board. The officials are only human and don’t have an easy job. I get that. However, if they can’t do it properly, just like other humans, they should face repercussions.