You're talking nonsense! Arsene Wenger is getting excuses ready if
he blows Premier League title, rages Villa fan Ian Bourne
Update! Since myopic moaning Wenger's comments, his wonderbar team have gone on to be heavily defeated by both ManYoo and Chelski! What goes around...
'Arsene has an opinion on
anything and everything,' he said, 'There's not a subject in this
world, political, religious or otherwise, that he doesn't have an
opinion on.
'I don't mind that. But if I totally and
utterly disagree with his opinion, then I should have the right to say
so. And I disagree with him about this.
'It has caused amusement
in our camp. James Milner, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing being
labelled long-ball merchants, it has caused merriment.
'It's
interesting that in the last 20 minutes of the game he (Wenger) brought
on a 6ft 3in tall centre forward (Nicklas Bendtner) and hit him about
six times with long balls from players like (Gael) Clichy.
'It's
a nonsense. Just the very point that he makes that nobody plays
football in the manner like Arsenal. If he believes that, good luck to
him, but I'd suggest he wants to go and take a wee look at Barcelona.
'We could all learn from that. I think anyone worth their salt in the game would want to aspire to playing like Barcelona. '
We should hold our opinions until Arsenal play Barcelona. Then if
Arsenal lose, wait for the reaction that Barcelona are a long-ball
team.
'You know, he's made a great contribution to the game
here. But he's not on a different planet to the rest of us. He's a very
skilful manager who has made a great contribution to the English game.
Well done him.'
O'Neill also suggested that Wenger's ploy
of continually playing up the theory that Arsenal were the Barclays
Premier League's purists was deliberately orchestrated to earn goodwill
from referees and also offer an excuse as to why his side may lose out
in the title race to Chelsea and Manchester United.
The Villa boss, whose side travel to Fulham today, added: 'You can
get carried away with your own importance. You really can. 'I have to
say that sometimes he (Wenger) does. He's also had 99 sendings-off and
98 of them weren't Arsenal's fault. That's the whole point.
'There
are things that happen in the game where you can't always be
fantastically proud of your team. There can be some nasty challenges
made by Arsenal players. William Gallas made one just the other week.
You cannot condone everything.
'You have to say, "On
reflection, I've seen it again, and it's a nasty challenge". 'You don't
have to be running around worrying what people think about you all of
the time, but if what you are saying stands up and people can see it,
then people will accept it.
'I've said this in retaliation
to what was said the other night. And I've told Arsene that too. I told
him to his face. I'm not fighting back through the newspapers.
'He's not caught up in this pretty game stuff. He's trying to influence things. He knows the game inside out.
'The idea that it's pretty and that an Arsenal player doesn't make a tackle in the game, it's nonsense. Absolute nonsense.
'Don't be fooled, he knows what he's doing. These are deliberate ploys.
'He wants to make sure everyone is under his spell to make them believe
that Arsenal are the only delightful team around.
'That's
really what he wants to do. And when you are looking for that, you can
actually maybe spot a weakness because that means you are trying to get
an excuse ready if you are not able to compete with Manchester United
or Chelsea.
'The fact is, they probably are able to compete, because they have enough physical players to cope.
'But it's all a plan. If he puts his hands up in the air enough times
then the referee may see that Sol Campbell hadn't fouled Richard Dunne
when he was going through in the last minute and that the referee
believes him (Wenger).
'So they do foul players. And what
about the Arsenal of a few seasons ago? Arsenal teams of old could dish
it out, physically, as well as anyone. It's conveniently forgotten.
'So
I don't think there is any acceptance here whatsoever about what he
said the other night. Not in the slightest. It's made no difference
here. We will continue to play as we do until we drop.
'Honestly,
Ashley Young being "long ball". It's funny, it really is.'Whether
Wenger will be laughing at O'Neill's furious blast is quite another
thing.'
