Red-carded Wilshere ´not dirty,´ says Wenger

Arsene Wenger admitted Jack Wilshere deserved to be sent off at the end of Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Birmingham but insisted the England youngster is not a dirty player.

Wilshere, 18, received a straight red card for an ugly lunge on Nikola Zigic in the final seconds of a clash that was decided by Marouane Chamakh’s 48th minute goal.

Zigic, who had earlier put his side ahead, escaped serious injury but Wilshere’s challenge will only fuel the debate about reckless tackling that has dominated the opening weeks of the season.

Arsenal manager Wenger has been one of the most vocal critics of the nature of some of the challenges and addressed the issue in his programme notes for Birmingham’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

In his notes, Wenger demanded an improvement in the standard of tackling and claimed managers are responsible for the behaviour of their teams.

The Frenchman’s words were quickly put to the test by Wilshere but Wenger is adamant the teenager is not a malicious player.

“He mistimed his tackle and got a red card he deserved,” Wenger said. “But it was his first tackle in the game. You have to acknowledge that he got a red card and deserved it, but he didn’t spend the whole game kicking people.

“He played football and was one of the best players on the pitch. Unfortunately it happened to him. He did not want to hurt the player, but he mistimed his tackle.

“We are the team who have most fouls committed against us, and I encourage our players to play football. We got a red card and deserved it.

“Wilshere will be suspended for three games, so he will be punished. I spoke with him about it already. He said he mistimed the tackle and touched him on the ankle, so deserves a red card.”

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish agreed with Wenger’s assessment but also hopes the incident will help draw a line under the tackle by Birmingham’s Martin Taylor on Eduardo when that left the Croatian forward, then playing for Arsenal, with a badly broken leg in 2008.

McLeish said: “If he (Wilshere) doesn’t get a red card for that, then we pack our bags and go home.

“Zigic was lucky not to end up with a very badly damaged leg. We’ve had to put up with the Eduardo stuff for the last couple of years.

“It’s every time we play Arsenal. In the programme today, the interviewer is going to say he’s going to interview Eduardo ‘on that tackle’. It’s scandalous. Martin Taylor is not a dirty player, but it was mistimed.

“That tackle could have caused Zigic terrible damage. It just shows that players can mistime things in this hurly burly football. Everybody has to recognise that they happen.”

McLeish accepts there are more two-footed tackles witnessed in English football these days, but claims the problem has been imported from outside, citing his experience of working with French players when he managed in Scotland.

He added: “The two-footed tackles, I don’t think that’s a British thing. When I brought French players to Scotland, it was a feature of French players: two-footed players.

“Franck Sauzee at Hibernian, a fantastic player, went into tackles with two feet. It must have been allowed in France. There were a few other players who we trialled, and I saw it as a trait in the French game.”