Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0: Wenger fumes over Walcott penalty decision
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0: Arsene Wenger was adamant that his side should have had a penalty in the first half
Arsene Wenger was adamant that Arsenal should have had a penalty when Theo Walcott was brought down in the first half of Monday night’s goalless draw with Chelsea.
The England international appeared to be tripped by Willian in the box just before half-time but referee Mike Dean waved play on as the Blues held the home side to a stalemate in north London.
“It was 100 per cent a penalty when Theo Walcott was fouled, in my mind there is no doubt. I don’t know why it was not given.
It was a very intense game but a locked game. They came here to defend and catch us on the break
Arsene Wenger
“After that we played with great focus and concentration but in the second half we couldn’t get the goal we deserved.”
Wenger, whose side moved up to second in the table and level on points with leaders Liverpool, felt that Arsenal did enough to win the game, despite Frank Lampard seeing his shot rebound off the bar in the first half.
“We should have won it,” said Wenger. “They came here to defend and catch us on the break. We were a bit edgy at the start but we took control in the second half and should have won it.
“It was a game of very few chances and we couldn’t take ours. If you cannot win the game don’t lose it.
“They locked the game up and waited for a counter-attacking chance. It took us a while to get into our flow. I thought always in the final part of the game we would win it but when we had the chances we could not take them.
“It was a very intense game but a locked game.”
Wenger, who didn’t use any of his substitutes, added: “I made no changes as we had a good balance and I felt that we had enough strength to see it through.” 
