Gunners boss Wenger expects his side to respond at Swansea

Gunners boss Wenger expects his side to respond at Swansea

Published Mar. 23, 2014 10:21 a.m. ET

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists the best way his side can respond to their 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea is by beating Swansea on Tuesday night.

Wenger described the manner of Arsenal's Stamford Bridge capitulation as a "nightmare" and believes the ideal way to exorcise those demons is with a strong response in their rearranged Premier League match against the out-of-form Swans at Emirates Stadium.

"What is important is to give a response on Tuesday night and that is it. I don't believe it is the time to talk too much about (what went wrong)," Wenger said.

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"The players are deeply disappointed as we all are, but now I think let us prepare for the next game.

"We can win the next game, so that is what we have to focus on now and give a strong response.

"We are in a situation now where after such a disappointment that the next game becomes vital."

A statement was issued from governing body the Professional Game Match Officials Limited on Saturday evening, in which referee Andre Marriner acknowledged his mistake in sending off Kieran Gibbs instead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after 15 minutes,

Gibbs was shown red by Marriner with Chelsea 2-0 up, and the official thought it was the defender who had saved Eden Hazard's shot with his outstretched arm

The Football Association has confirmed Arsenal, or indeed the governing body itself, could appeal against the sending-off on the grounds of mistaken identity, with the suspension likely to be transferred to Oxlade-Chamberlain - who had approached the referee to tell him he was to blame at the time, but was waved away.

However, the Gunners could also subsequently launch an appeal on the grounds the handball had not in fact prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity as Hazard's shot looked to be going wide.

Wenger said: "The referee made a mistake because he missed the identity of the player, he has not seen what happened at all.

"Maybe it was a penalty, but it was not Gibbs."

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