The Arsenal manager’s usual punctuality went out of the window and a forty-minute delay in proceedings served only to accentuate the feeling that this was an occasion that Arsene Wenger was not relishing.
Called to preview Saturday’s game, the topics of Southampton, the FA Cup or even football struggled to get a look in.
Wenger was forthright in his defence of Granit Xhaka, accused of making a racist remark to a member of staff at Heathrow this week.
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Arsene Wenger faced more off-the-field questions than about their upcoming match
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Granit Xhaka was shown his third red card of the season last week
“The incident at Heathrow, he denies completely,” he said. “I have talked with him about it and he completely denies what happened there.”
But the main discomfort was over his impending FA hearing following his shove of fourth official Anthony Taylor on Sunday.
A clumsy opening interrogation was batted away easily – the interviewer first asked if he had accepted his “ban” and then changed it to “fine” when, as a relieved Wenger pointed out, his punishment is not yet known.
Arsene Wenger's moment of madness during Arsenal v Burnley
Mon, January 23, 2017
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Click through the gallery for the best snaps of Arsene Wenger's moment of touchline madness during Arsenal v Burnley
“I’m available, I’m fit and healthy,” he went on to joke, when a half-hearted follow-up questioned whether he would be there tomorrow.
In truth, though, he may not even be allowed to enter St Mary’s if the FA impose a stadium ban, although Wenger was cautious when probed further on the “what ifs” of his situation.
“Yes, I will hold my hands up and admit my guilt,” he said when finally forced to address the issue. “I’ve answered that in the press conference, there’s not more to add. I’m big enough to know when I do well and when I do not do well. So that’s it.
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Arsenal return to FA Cup action this weekend
“I don’t know if I will be punished and how I will be punished. If I am punished, the only thing I can say is that I thought when I was sent off I was surprised and I was in the tunnel because I thought I had the right to be in the tunnel.
“Last time I was sent off wrongly, in 2009, I had to go in the stand at Old Trafford and I didn’t know where to go. No one tells you what you have to do when you are sent off. I think there need to be guidelines.”
The FA will make sure everything is laid out in black and white for him after his personal hearing. Then, whether his punishment is considered harsh or lenient, the talking can really begin in earnest.
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