Wenger criticises cowardly players

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
01 Nov	3:00 PM	P	Stoke City (A)	1	2	Lost

Manager Arsène Wenger has launched a scathing attack on players and teams who set out to deliberately hurt other players and intimidate them physically.

The Frenchman was responding to comments and reports that his young charges lacked physical strength and were frail mentally.

Wenger has accused Stoke City of overly aggressive tactics after injuries to two of his players in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat on Saturday.

Wenger condemned Rory Delap and Ryan Shawcross after Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor were both hurt.

Wenger said: "Do you think Delap tried to play the ball when he tackled Walcott? Or that Shawcross tried to play the ball when he tackled Adebayor?

"I am not ready to listen to things that are untrue and make people who are cowards, for me, look brave. "I read that my team were not brave.

"All I can say is they are brave and, for me, you need to have more courage to play football when you know that someone is tackling you from behind without any intention to play the ball.

"The only intention is to hurt you and I can show some tackles where I can prove what I say. The one who is tackling is not the brave one.

"For me the brave one is the player who is trying to play football.

"We know that other teams have that gameplan but so do we. If other teams are physical we can deal with that.

"We have just got to think of our own game and the way we play. If we do that well enough that should be enough to win the games.

"If teams want to kick us we will deal with that and still come out on top. We will have to stick our foot in and tackle and then play our football when we have the ball.

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