Norwich boss Daniel Farke revealed Arsenal players had apologised after his side were denied a late penalty in their 2-1 EFL Cup defeat at the Emirates.
Referee Andy Madley waved away Norwich’s protestations when left-back James Husband was dragged down by Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy six minutes before the end of extra time.
Replays would suggest Norwich had a convincing case, with Debuchy’s right arm connecting with Husband’s neck, and Farke claimed that Arsenal had admitted they had gotten away with a foul.
“I don’t have to interpret it because several Arsenal players said ‘sorry for you but it was a clear penalty’,” Farke said. “I don’t have to add anything to these comments.”
It was not the only occasion when luck was on Arsenal’s side. Wenger’s desperate throw of the dice in turning to Eddie Nketiah proved to be an inspired switch, the 18-year-old home debutant scoring twice to overturn Josh Murphy’s first half opener for the Canaries.
Nketiah was not the only youngster to save Wenger’s blushes, with debutant Matt Macey making a string of crucial saves as Norwich chased a second.
But most significantly of all Madley opted only to book Mohamed Elneny when he hauled down Nelson Oliveira as the Norwich striker burst through on goal.
Farke was convinced the game turned on that moment.
“I’m not the guy who claims for red cards but this situation was obvious, it was a one-vs-one to the goalkeeper and that’s nearly 100 per cent 2-0. That’s the determining situation of the game and we’re in the next round.
“Obviously he should have seen a red card. Then it’s 11 against 10 and they are not able to build so much pressure. There aren’t all these set pieces and it isn’t 1-1. To accept this situation is really hard but sometimes you have to accept mistakes. I’m pretty sure the ref wants to show his best performance.”
