Gunners chief upset with amount of added time.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was disappointed with the amount of time added on by match officials at the end of the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
Darren Bent snatched a late equaliser for the hosts in the 95th minute, when only 94 has been signalled as the alotted added on time.
Wenger was left to dispute the decision that cost his side a valuable three points after the game.
“It was outside the four minutes,” he told ESPN. “I know the referee can give more and it’s a minimum of four minutes but during the four minutes nothing happened to justify the extension of time so you always want it to keep to four but what can I do about that?
“We battled very hard in the second half, even with ten men we were the better team. In the first half we had difficulties to get going after Wednesday night [the 6-0 Champions League victory over Braga] but in the second half we found the second gear.
“Even with 10 men we were always dominating the game so it’s frustrating but on the other hand there is a lot of positives in this game for my team that I would like to keep.”
Arsenal had a chance to go 2-0 up when his side were awarded a penalty and the Arsenal boss revealed that Samir Nasri was in line to take the spot kick ahead of Tomas Rosicky, but was philosophical on the miss.
Wenger explained: “No, on the list was [Samir] Nasri. [The order] was [Cesc] Fabregas of course, Nasri, [Andrey] Arshavin.
“But Nasri, because he was fouled maybe, gave the ball to [Tomas] Rosicky – I don’t know – but you have to accept that with a penalty you can miss, you can score. Unfortunately for us we did miss.”
Alex Song was sent off in the second half for a second bookable offense after a challenge on Steed Malbranque - a decision Wenger was also less than happy with.
“I thought the first yellow card was very harsh,” said Wenger. “He then makes an obstruction and [the referee] can give him a second yellow – what can we say?”
“We adapted quite well, we kept the ball well after that and with 10 men we were always comfortable."
Asked if Sunderland deserved credit for their battling style, the Arsenal boss explained that he felt his side dealt well with the challenge.
“We expected that,” he said. “In the central defense and on the long balls we dealt very well with it and had an outstanding game in the central defense and our goalkeeper.
“We’re really mastering well and the back four did well so they gave us a hard time, it’s true.
“But overall three days after the Champions League game we adapted well.”
Wenger was unable to shed any light on how serious the injury that forced Cesc Fabregas out of action was, though he will be hopeful the Spain international is available again immediately.
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