DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AT HIGHBURY

Last updated : 11 August 2003 By Editor
Arsene Wenger still having discipline problems:

“Jeffers made a mistake. He is an intelligent boy who will
learn from that. He was frustrated and he shouldn't have
done it. He is young and when he came on he wanted to show
how good he was. He got frustrated with his control. He was
certainly not happy.”

Jeffers has apologised to his team mates, but what about Phil
Neville?

“It was a foul initiated by Phil Neville. My reaction was silly
and I have apologised to the manager and my team mates.”
Neville said: “The referee stamped his authority on the game
early on and after that there were not too many problems
with the exception of one or two incidents. The sending off
one of those things. We got into a tangle and he reacted
and, unluckily for him, got sent off. I am sure he didn't
want to do that, but you cannot react like that in those
situations.”

Wenger was quick to defend both Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole,
both of whom also kicked out at United players:

“Do you want everyone sent off? I didn't see Sol's challenge
and to send Ashley off in the Community Shield would have
been harsh. Frankly I feel in the last two years we have
improved immensely with our discipline. We had some
problems, which I don't deny. But I feel that least season
and the season before we improved a lot on our disciplinary
record. It was quite good last year.”