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Wenger accuses Leicester of ´provoking´ penalties

SoccerNews in English Premier League 20 Aug 2016

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Arsene Wenger claimed Leicester City players are good at “provoking” penalties after his Arsenal side were given the benefit of the doubt on two close calls during Saturday’s 0-0 draw at the King Power Stadium.

The stalemate means the top two from last season’s Premier League remain without a win after two matches this season, although the visitors were relieved to see Laurent Koscielny and Hector Bellerin escape punishment from referee Mark Clattenberg when they tangled with Danny Drinkwater and Ahmed Musa respectively at the end of each half.

Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Wenger was non-committal on each incident but highlighted Leicester’s record of winning regular spot-kicks on their way to the title last season.

“I’m like you, in life it is very difficult to know. You have to watch it in slow motion to see what’s happened,” he said of Koscielny’s lunging tackle on Drinkwater.

“Maybe [Musa should have had a penalty], again it was on the other side [of the pitch] but Leicester is very good at provoking in the box. They got many penalties last year.

“So you never know, is it really a penalty or not?”

A section of Arsenal’s travelling supporters again showed their frustrations with Wenger’s apparent reluctance to bolster his squad in the transfer market , but the manager was pleased to see a resilient performance from his players following last weekend’s chastening 4-3 loss at home to Liverpool.

“We gave absolutely everything to win the game. It was a game of high intensity, where both teams gave absolutely everything,” he said.

“On that front, after we conceded four goals last week we have shown a great defensive performance.

“Overall we created the chances to win it but you could see that they were not champions for no reason last season. They are a team who are very organised and it’s very difficult to create chances.”

Koscielny returned to provide much-needed experience at the heart of defence and Wenger praised the France international.

“I thought that the whole back four played well and he guided the defence very well,” he added.

“He had an outstanding game. Also Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal played very well.”

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