Wenger - Tackling a strength of our game

Arsene Wenger insists that the physicality of the Premier League is one of the major reasons it is revered around the world.

The Frenchman was unhappy with a few challenges during Tuesday night’s goalless draw against Everton at Emirates Stadium.

But he does not believe there is any need for a crackdown on tackling, as long as the players are competing honestly for the ball each time.

“I was asked on Tuesday whether [Darron] Gibson could have been sent off,” he said. “I said yes because for me it is more the intention of the player that counts.

“When someone does a deliberate foul to stop a player going forward on a counter-attack, that is a real yellow card.

“But the physicality of the English game is one of the attractions of it, as long as the intention is fair from the player who goes into the challenge. That is the most important thing.

“I don't have a problem with players who go in completely 100 per cent because that is what you want to keep in the English game.

“Sometimes I watch foreign games and after 20 minutes you are bored because every time somebody goes down it is a foul, and you say 'Come on'. That is not football.

“We do not want to lose the strengths and what makes English football attractive, but the intention of the players has to be fair.”