Arsene Wenger charged with misconduct
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been charged with misconduct for his comments after the 1-1 draw against Sunderland.
Wenger confronted fourth official Martin Atkinson after Darren Bent had scored for Sunderland in the 95th minute. Wenger was upset that the goal came after the referee had added on four minutes to the
90 and not five.
He said: "If you have a watch, you can control. It's as simple as that. It was outside the four minutes. I know the referee can give more than four, it's a minimum of four minutes. But in the four minutes
nothing happened to justify the extension of the time."
Wenger has until 23 September to decide if he will appeal against a one-game touchline ban and an £8,000 fine. He will be a big miss for Arsenal if he is forced to serve the ban.
A big miss
The manager has to be on the side of the pitch so he can make quick tactical changes based on the pattern of a game. Wenger is a very active and loud manager who is crucial in getting messages to players
in little time.
Arsenal has a policy of helping younger players break into the first team and stay there. These young players lack the experience and knowledge to adapt to opposition tactics. Wenger offers valuable advice
from the touchline in the middle of a game that can ease pressure on these young players.
It's important not to read too much into this news because Wenger was clearly annoyed that his side had wasted two points. Had Arsenal been 2-0 up at the time Darren Bent scored then there would never
have been an issue.
This suggests that Wenger was speaking more in the heat of the moment. If the case does go to appeal then this is the argument that Arsenal will push forward as a defence.
Betting advice
Wenger does make a difference when he is dishing out orders from the touchline. However, his inevitable absence should not make too much difference. Arsenal is a professional team with good players that
should cope.
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