Arsene Wenger was not impressed with the officiating during Arsenal’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City.
Arsenal had just gotten back into the game thanks to a goal from second-half substitute Alexandre Lacazette, but had their bubble burst by Gabriel Jesus.
David Silva was very clearly offside during the build-up of the goal, and Wenger was obviously unimpressed with such a poor decision at a crucial time in the game.
Wenger: "You have seen what I've seen. The fact that you tell me it's an offside goal shows enough. I don't want to take anything away from their quality but it happened at a moment when we were in the game."
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) November 5, 2017
Wenger: "In the second half it was an even game. I felt we put a lot of effort in and at 2-1 you feel we could come back."
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) November 5, 2017
Wenger: "I felt that before the game I knew we could be in trouble with their pace. That's why we tried to play our usual system. When we were 2-0 down we had to take a a gamble."
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) November 5, 2017
In the video above, Wenger is even firmer with his thoughts, saying that Arsenal are ‘used’ to bad decisions at Manchester City while criticising what he sees as the ever-declining standard of referees in the Premier League as ‘unacceptable’.
That Arsenal didn’t start playing until they were 2-0 down was a huge issue on its own.
Perhaps with better officiating, Arsenal might have found a way to level the game. Yet, this is Arsenal we’re talking about. They were just as likely to find a way to screw up.
City had several opportunities to punish Arsenal further on the break. On another day, Arsenal would have never been in the game.
Wenger went to explain how Francis Coquelin ended up at centre back.
Wenger on Coquelin: "Mertesacker came in yesterday morning sick. Holding had a thigh strain. Debuchy has just come back as a long-term absentee."
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) November 5, 2017
None of which explains why Mohamed Elneny wasn’t given a game instead, given how Wenger talked him up as an option this season.
The other big talking point was the performance and mindset of Alexis Sanchez. Unlike the Arsenal fans, Wenger thought the Chilean had a decent game.
Wenger on Alexis: "I felt in the difficult moment of the game he did very well. He was sharp but didn't have enough support. I felt he gave everything. It was a huge mental test but I had no doubt about him before the game. He wants to win."
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) November 5, 2017