West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo claimed Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere used "insulting" language towards his winger Jerome Thomas during the 2-0 Carling Cup third round victory, though Arsène Wenger claimed to be deaf to it.

The pair were then seen to exchange angry words before Thomas lashed out, leaving referee Lee Mason with little option but to brandish a straight red card.

Wenger's selective sight when his players are involved in controversy is well known but the Frenchman added deafness to his list of touchline ailments, speaking with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "My eyes are not great and my ears are even worse!

"I couldn't hear anything from the touchline. But I don't know. It looked like Thomas responded, reacted, and in these cases you always need to control your nerves.

dayokanu:

Gayyners how market??

dayokanu:

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dayokanu:

Me, Dayokanu, on my rites of passage to manhood, before i was sold to slavery in doocheland!!.

debosky:

Again, Ignore!

Nice for Watts to open his account for the club and I was glad to see Vela back as well - the more options the better.

Good to see Szezsny (?) in good form saving shots right left and centre - maybe we should give him a run instead of Mannone. It wasn't 6-0 like Sheffield W'day, but this is the leading team in League 1 so it's still a good result.

@ mystical can you give us your account of how it felt to be in the stadium? I'm hearing they're really 'Arsenalizing' the stadium now - starting with the glorious banner on the outside showing the club's history and stars.

debosky:

It wasn't 6-0 like Sheffield W'day, but this is the leading team in League 1 so it's still a good result.

edoyad:

^^ True talk . Missing his sermons.
Victoria Concordia Crescit

Philippe Senderos admits that returning to Arsenal in the summer felt like "coming home".

The Swiss defender spent last season on loan at AC Milan and arrived back in England with his future up in the air. Many expected Senderos to leave Emirates Stadium during the transfer window but he is still an Arsenal player and made his first appearance for the Club since May 2008 when he helped the young Gunners keep a clean sheet and beat West Brom in the Carling Cup.

With Johan Djourou sidelined with a long-term knee injury, Senderos is challenging for a regular spot in Arsène Wenger's side. And he admits he is still in love with Arsenal and London.

"Returning here felt like coming back home, definitely," he told the Official Matchday Programme.

"It has been a bit frustrating because I thought I might have been more involved. Another difficulty has been that at the beginning of the season I thought I was on my way. If I was not going to be playing, I wanted to find something else, but then Johan Djourou sustained an injury, which was really unfortunate for him, and the Club needed me to stay.

"I had a few possibilities, but in the end it wasn’t the right thing for the Club or me. I’ll say this to anyone – I love London and love Arsenal, and wanted to stay here, but obviously I need to feature around the team."