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Wenger 'disgusted' at officials after Arsenal are denied

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted he was 'disgusted' that Arsenal's late goal was disallowed © Getty Images

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A clearly-angered Arsene Wenger raged at referee Anthony Taylor's decision to disallow an Andrey Arshavin strike for offside that ultimately consigned Arsenal to a 0-0 draw with a resilient Sunderland on Saturday.

Television replays showed that Arshavin was level with the last man as the ball was played through on goal at Emirates Stadium, but as he rounded goalkeeper Simon Mignolet the offside flag was raised.

Having earlier seen the Russian denied a penalty after what appeared to be a push from defender Titus Bramble, Wenger could not contain his anger at the officials for denying his side a chance to heap the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United.

"I'm too disgusted to speak about it, frankly," Wenger told BBC Sport, when asked about the offside decision. "What can you say? We put a lot of commitment into the game and I believe Arshavin was not offside.

"What can you do? You do not need me to know he was not offside. But these things have a big impact on the Premiership and we are deeply disappointed. We feel justice has not been done today. And it's not the first time."

The Frenchman was happy to commend Steve Bruce's side for their defensive performance, but believed his team showed great resolve under pressure and ultimately deserved a victory that he was adamant was unfairly denied them.

"We are very frustrated because we gave a lot and unfortunately we couldn't score," he said. "We absolutely tried everything and Sunderland defended very well as well.

"You need to be patient and not make mistakes, and that's what we did. But if you cancel goals out for offside when it is not offside then it is difficult to win football games."

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