Arsene Wenger says that referees get excessive protection after his side suffered defeat to Manchester City on the back of what he believed to be offside goals.
After taking a 1-0 lead at the break, Wenger's side conceded two second half goals to leave them nine points off table leaders Chelsea after a second consecutive Premier League loss.
An aggrieved Arsene Wenger believes that the two second half goals should have been ruled out for offside but stated that officials get too much protection in this regard.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, he said:
"As it is well known, the referees are protected very well like lions in the zoo. I want them to be very well protected, I want them to be safe but if they could make the right decisions it would be even better."
Arsenal appeared to be in control in the first period, with Alexis Sanchez slipping a through-ball into the path of Theo Walcott to put them in front. But within minutes of the restart, City had levelled the tie and capitalised on that momentum to score again through Sané to secure the points.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wenger highlighted the onset of fatigue in his players following a run of games away from home, including a Champions League tie against Basel.
Manchester City far more organised and intense in the second half. Arsene Wenger, as usual, has failed to respond tactically. #MCIARS
— Duncan Castles (@DuncanCastles) December 18, 2016
"We dropped physically in the second half. In the first half we always looked dangerous and sharp. Decisions went against us, two offside goals. In a game of that stature, I feel enough is enough for us because we got some bad decisions (against us) for the whole season. Today I look at the goals, both are offside."
"The second one is five yards offside but what can I do, I have to live with that. We have to look at ourselves and analyse why we lost the game. It's a shame because in both games we were 1-0 up and we lost. I believe we were quite in control and in the second half we suffered (physically) after their first goal for 20/25 minutes."
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