Arsene Wenger believes that neither of the goals his Arsenal side conceded on Sunday afternoon should have stood.
The Gunners had enjoyed a 1-0 half-time lead but saw the result stripped away from them as Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling ensured all three points remained at the Etihad.
Sane appeared to be just inches offside when David Silva released him into space for the crucial equaliser right after the break and some argued that Silva, while stood in an offside position, was interfering with play when the ball left Sterling’s foot for the eventual winner.
“I feel we dropped physically in the second half. In the first half we were dangerous and sharp,” Wenger said when interviewed by Sky Sports after the game.
“On top of that the decisions went against us. The two goals are two offside goals and, in a game of that stature, I feel that enough is enough because we got some bad decisions throughout the season.
“The second one is five yards offside. The first one is still offside. But what can I do?”
The Frenchman wasn’t happy. That much was abundantly clear and it was the second time in four days that he had some criticism for a match official.
Midweek Wenger claimed he was “really disappointed in Clattenburg” after referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a corner that eventually led to Ashley Williams’ winner in Everton’s victory over Arsenal.
But supporters who remembered the fine that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was handed for his comments about referee Anthony Taylor prior to Manchester United’s October clash with Liverpool wanted to know whether Wenger could expect something similar.
Fans noticed that the rivals can be quite similar in how they discuss match officials.
https://twitter.com/drewmentalised/status/810550552111312896
https://twitter.com/jasonburke103/status/810551007474282496
Wenger is turning into Mourinho, always someone else's fault and not his own team
— Johnny Davies (@JohnnyDavies_) December 18, 2016
Double standard accusations were levelled.
The @FA Should act now! 2nd time in a week, Wenger attacks refs, and is not punished! Mourinho would have been banned by now!
Biased FA!!! https://t.co/Mqrelg96RQ— The King of the North 👑 (@oc_bria) December 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/mason849/status/810567363175346177
https://twitter.com/JosephAbdallah8/status/810566670532149248
@FA you gonna charge Wenger for criticising your refs like you did mourinho?
— FREE PALESTINE🇵🇸🇿🇦 (@SAandPalestine) December 18, 2016
Its same thing every year for Arsenal.. But the media adores arsene wenger, but always attacks mourinho.
— Chris Ben™ (@chris_ben546) December 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/POL1T1CS/status/810553812519768068
Wenger just said "Refs are protected like lions in the zoo"…
Mourinho would have gotten banned just for saying Refs
— El Jefe (@justinessien) December 18, 2016
.@FA I expect a fine for Wenger, after all, if it was Mourinho then you'd give him a 5 match touchline ban… #MUFC https://t.co/ZCx8ceGar7
— Brandon 🔰 ➐ (@b8olaaa) December 18, 2016
This joke was quite prominent.
BREAKING: Josè Mourinho receives 6-match ban and £100k fine following Arsene Wenger's comments this evening. https://t.co/RfrrugYn0P
— Jay (@JustCantona) December 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/vivek21794/status/810558255285964800
https://twitter.com/Attacking_LWB/status/810563877184290816
But most just predicted a scenario in which the Arsenal boss got away with his remarks.
https://twitter.com/CR689908/status/810552647199637504
Wenger echoing Mourinho now. FA won't go near it. https://t.co/gAAZYsuJpX
— David (@DavidMaguire3) December 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/philipdwright/status/810554197821235200
Wenger has once again criticised the referee for his decisions today. But because he's not Mourinho, it's fine we'll turn a blind eye.
— . (@Pogbaganda) December 18, 2016
If Mourinho made those comments on the referees that Wenger just did, he'd be given a lifetime ban. Don't hold your breath on Wenger though.
— Adam (@Adam_Analyst7) December 18, 2016
Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live:
