Laurent Koscielny pulled an ‘Arsene Wenger’ by claiming he did not know if he handled the ball to score the winner for Arsenal yesterday.
The French manager has regularly claimed to not see such goings on during the game, from deliberate fouls, dives, and various other precarious occurrences on the field, and today is no different.
The boss stated that he was yet to see a replay, not peak a look at the controversial goal, but more surprising than Wenger’s comment, was stand-in skipper Laurent Koscielny’s claim that he did not know if it struck his hand.
The centre-back would most certainly know if the ball had struck his arm before going in, especially given the pace of the ball, but he refutes such knowledge.
Koscielny said: “I don’t know if it was handball. I tried with my right foot and I don’t know if I touch it with my hand
“The referee gave the goal and you need to respect the decision.
“It was a hard game. We had the chance to score but we have to push ourselves on the pitch and it arrived at the end. It keeps our run going.
“We wanted to finish before the international break with a win. It’s important to keep our feet on the ground. “You could see against Burnley they played well. We needed to push ourselves more and more and in football the aim is to win and keep the quality of our football at the same time.”
The France international appears to be trying to save face, although you would not expect to hear any criticism from Arsenal fans for not putting his hands up (excuse the pun) and admitting to the hand-ball at the time, which most certainly would have meant the game would have finished 0-0.
Should Koscielny have owned up to the referee? Does anyone believe he could not have realised that the ball struck his hands? Was Kos unable to admit to the handball?
Pat J