Wenger says sorry for brawl

LONDON - ARSENE Wenger's 10-year stint at Arsenal has been accompanied by 68 red cards, for which he has seldom apologised.

That changed on Tuesday.

Reflecting on the League Cup final that ended in a brawl, the Gunners' manager said: 'Overall, we are sorry for what happened.

'I feel Kolo Toure should not have reacted at all to the shirt-tugging by Jon Obi Mikel. When you do not behave like you want to, then you have to apologise.

'We want to focus on playing football well. We want to deal well with the frustrations of the game, and we want to be exemplary.

'But we also want to remind people that we have been top of the Fair Play League twice in the last few years.

'This year, we are the team that has committed the least fouls in the league, and been the most fouled against.

'What happened was a one-off for us in the last three years. We are sorry for that. It was a good game and this was an incident of one minute. But we do not want to behave like we behaved.'

The reference to 'the last three years' is significant, reported The Telegraph.

In October 2004, after Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten run in the Premiership came to an end at Old Trafford, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson received a pizza in the face from the away dressing room.

A year earlier, at the same venue, United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, whom Wenger labelled 'a cheat', was taunted by Arsenal's players after missing a penalty.

The actions were condemned unreservedly by the board at Arsenal, but not their manager.

In the League Cup final on Sunday, which Chelsea won 2-1, Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor were red-carded and face three-match bans.

Adebayor faces more punishment for failing to leave the pitch when dismissed by referee Howard Webb.

Emmanuel Eboue was also charged with violent conduct for hitting Chelsea's Wayne Bridge.

But Wenger believes the Football Association was not playing fair.

'I have to say the whole system is not honest,' he said. 'I'd rather not say more - but that's my opinion.'

Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Michael Essien escaped censure, despite broadcast material indicating that Essien cuffed Denilson on the face, and Drogba slapped the back of Francesc Fabregas' head.

Adebayor, widely believed to be a victim of mistaken identity, said: 'When the referee showed me a red card, I could not believe it.

'I remember that our physiotherapist Gary Lewin came to me to say, 'Come on, Manu, let's go'. I said, 'Just let me ask one question - why did he give me a red card?'

'A lot of people thought I was going to hit him, but I was not.'

Mikel blames Arsenal for the brawl. He said: 'My red card was very harsh.

'I didn't touch Toure at all. I kept my hands down completely. He attacked me. I had to defend myself.

'It's too bad such an ugly thing happened, but it has been blown out of all proportion by the Arsenal players.'

His ban is unlikely to hinder Chelsea too seriously. The teenager is only a squad player, and there are plenty of options in midfield.

Toure, Eboue and Adebayor, however, are first-team players for Arsenal.