Everton vs Arsenal: Ronald Koeman taunts Arsene Wenger after referee gripe over Ashley Williams' winning goal
Wenger complained that the corner which led to Williams' winning header should not have stood but Koeman knew how to deal with the Frenchman's criticisms - with a smile and a joke
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Your support makes all the difference.Ronald Koeman teased Arsène Wenger after the Arsenal manager complained that the corner awarded to Everton which led to Ashley Williams's winner at Goodison Park should never been given.
Wenger was justifiably frustrated. Referee Mark Clattenburg did not see the ball touch the shoulder of substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin and seconds later, Arsenal’s 14 game unbeaten run was just a few minutes away from being over.
“Of course, it was no corner,” Wenger said. “You can see it was no corner. The referee made his decision and that does not explain why we did not head the ball. I am really disappointed in Mr Clattenburg. He is in a really good position to see it and it is not the first time we are really unlucky with his decisions.”
Koeman said he was not surprised by Wenger’s assessment, even if it was correct.
“It is the third time in a row I won at home against Arsenal and three times in a row it was about the referee,” he joked.
Wenger was also critical of his team. They had led thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s free-kick but Seamus Coleman’s equaliser just before half time arrived in a period where Everton’s game became physical, causing Arsenal’s control of the game to loosen.
“We have to look at ourselves,” Wenger conceded. “We lost the game. We started well and after that lost a bit of urgency. We were a bit too comfortable and Everton made it very physical. I believe they disturbed our game and we created less. In the end unfortunately we didn’t take our chances.”
Wenger admitted that Everton’s approach disrupted his team, “a little bit,” insisting, however, that the atmosphere inside Goodison Park, which became febrile as the encounter wore on, did not affect his players.
Arsenal's defeat means Chelsea will move six points clear at the top of the Premier League if they win at Sunderland on Wednesday night.
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