• Premier League

Wenger pleads for crackdown on thuggery

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has launched an impassioned plea for other managers to join him in a bid to stamp out the rough tactics employed in the Premier League.

Wenger was left hugely frustrated after he saw Abou Diaby injured by a robust challenge from Paul Robinson during the Gunners' 4-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

The French midfielder, who had his ankle broken and dislocated by a wild lunge from Sunderland's Dan Smith in 2006, has now been ruled out of Arsenal's Champions League clash with Braga on Wednesday.

Also in the Bolton fixture, Trotters defender Gary Cahill was dismissed for sliding through the back of Marouane Chamakh when the striker was pinned against the touchline. Having witnessed the unsavoury incidents against Wanderers, Wenger has again returned to the topic of other teams' aggressive tactics - a constant source of annoyance to him in recent years.

"[Robinson's] tackle was very bad," Wenger said. "I watched it ten times and it is an unfair tackle. Abou was very angry - he could have been sent off for over-reacting.

"What I hate the most is a player who is not committed and jumps out of the tackle. But to have a committed game you need to know that the intention of players is right, that they go for the ball.

"For example, you can say Cahill's red card was harsh, but he had no intention at all to play the ball. Tackles from behind with two feet off the ground are a red card.

"I would like everyone to support me. Don't get me wrong, we make bad fouls sometimes - and I have the same responsibility. But I do not have enough power. It is the managers, the referees, the people who watch the games, the people who write … They all have the same responsibility as I have."

Meanwhile, Wenger maintains that the English Premier League is still the ''strongest in Europe", citing the country's ten years at the top of the Champions League as evidence for his argument.

"The Premier League is still the strongest in Europe,'' he said. ''What happened last season was an accident, and we have to show that this year. We went out against Barcelona, who were better than us over the two games. We have to come back and show we can compete with them.

''Last season's final was Inter Milan against Bayern Munich, which was completely unexpected, so it's open - but you have ten teams in Europe who can hope to be in the final."

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