Wenger flays ‘very harsh’ Giroud send-off

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that Olivier Giroud should not have been sent off in his side’s Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

Things went from bad to worse for Wenger’s side just before the break when Giroud, who had already been booked for dissent, was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Ivo Pinto.

With the Gunners down to 10 men, pressure piled up in the second half and eventually, Dinamo struck again just before the hour mark as Fernandes rose at the near post to head home Paulo Machado’s corner.

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott was confident the team can put the setback behind them and advance from the group stage.

“On the first booking, Giroud was unlucky with the decision, but he shouldn’t have protested at all”.

“The first yellow for Olivier Giroud is a foul for us and the second is an accident. I don’t understand the referee”, the 65-year-old said. It has to be a foul on goal and it was not on objective . “Then the referee should have given many yellows”.

In other games, Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea ran away 4-0 winners against Israeli outfit Maccabi Tel Aviv, while defending champions Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw in Rome by AS Roma. Arsenal have a Premier League derby at Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime.

“We have had setbacks before and managed to bounce back from them”.

“You know that when you don’t win the game you have to look at yourself and think, ‘I didn’t get it right, ‘” Wenger is quoted as saying by Daily Express. Arsenal thought they had drawn level on 54 minutes, but Mesut Ozil’s effort was ruled out for offside.

Wenger surprised many with his team selection for the game, resting a few first-team stars like Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Francois Coquelin. “It is very hard to give a definite answer straight after the game”.

“After this we are ready for anything which might come, but are also aware of the strength of the group and cannot fall into euphoria”.