3-3 on Tuesday but the Frenchman still
criticised the Premier League fixture list
after the game
Arsene Wenger again queried the
Premier League schedule for this season
after Arsenal's dramatic 3-3 draw with
Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Perez
and Olivier Giroud - the latter in the 92nd
minute - optically discerned the Gunners emanate from 3-0
down to snatch a point in the final 20
minutes at the Vitality Stadium.
The result ended a run of back-to-back
league losses away from home but betokens
Chelsea could move 11 points clear of
Arsenal with a win over Tottenham on
Wednesday, while a Spurs victory would
visually perceive them leapfrog their north London rivals
and into the top four.
And Wenger, who voiced his displeasure
with the fixture list prior to the match,
criticised the decision to give his side one
day's less rest than Eddie Howe's team.
"It was very difficult to start the game. They
started quicker, faster," he told Sky Sports .
"Bournemouth deserve a lot of credit but
the disadvantage is too big to play against
a team with three and a half days recovery.
We played on Sunday - that's too big a
handicap.
"I think they are a good team, they have
quality, they look dangerous and
committed. That's why the game was
difficult.
"We had some players at half-time who
had problems. I changed it early in the
second half and I believe we refused to lose
the game, basically. There's a great
resilience in the team and we saw that."
"It was not a result we wished for before the
game but at 3-0 down we would have
signed for it. We dropped two points but
against a good side who had a very
dynamic game.
"I think, as well, we were not very lucky with
some decisions."
"It is no penalty, or if it is then it's a foul [on
Hector Bellerin]," he said. "The push from
Xhaka was much less strong than the push
for the goal."
Speaking to the BBC , he clarified that he
was frustrated with the decision to award a
penalty to Bournemouth for a push by
Granit Xhaka and not to punish Ryan Fraser
for a similar offence in the build-up to the
hosts' third goal.
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