Arsene Wenger has apologised following the brawl between Arsenal and Chelsea players at the end of Sunday's Carling Cup final:

Arsenal duo Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, along with Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, were all dismissed as tempers flared deep into stoppage-time.

The Football Association has charged both Arsenal and Chelsea with misconduct, and Wenger has said sorry for his side's part in the unsavoury episode.

But Wenger has also been keen to stress Arsenal's commendable disciplinary record in recent years.

"I feel we should not have reacted at all," he admitted.

"Overall, we are sorry for what happened. When you do not behave like you want to then you have to apologise.

"We want to focus on playing football well. We want to deal well with the frustrations and want to be exemplary.

"But we also want to remind people that we have been top of the Fair Play table twice in the last few years.

"Also, this year, we are the team who have committed the least fouls in the league and been the most fouled against.

"What happened was a one-off for us in the last three years and we are sorry for that."

Wenger has yet to decide whether to respond to the charge of misconduct.

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes has praised FA Cup rivals Arsenal for their fighting spirit:

The Gunners impressed in the Carling Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday but hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after a mass brawl erupted in the closing stages.

However, Hughes has been impressed with the Arsenal players' desire to succeed and is full of admiration for Arsene Wenger's side ahead of their FA Cup replay on Wednesday.

"To be a player at a top club you have to have a winning mentality and Arsenal do," he said.

"They take defeat poorly just like all top players do. That is not a criticism - it is a trait you want to see as a manager.

"It is a shame it overshadowed such a fantastic game but I thought it just showed two teams who wanted to win.

"Arsenal expect to win and it is not always possible. But I have a great admiration for the way they go about their business."

Hughes bore the brunt of Cesc Fabregas' frustration when Rovers battled to a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium earlier this month, with the Spaniard reportedly questioning the Blackburn boss' playing record with Barcelona.

But Hughes insists Fabregas was quick to say sorry, adding: "The young man came in and apologised and he said it with sincerity, so I accepted it readily.

"He made the point that he wants to win every game and when he doesn't he gets frustrated."

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has played down speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid:

According to reports in the Spanish press, Fabregas' agent Joseba Diaz met with Real president Ramon Calderon after their recent UEFA Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

They are rumoured to have discussed the possibility of bringing Fabregas to the Bernabeu at the end of this season.

Fabregas admits he is flattered by Real's interest, but insists he is happy at Arsenal and committed to forging out a career at Emirates Stadium.

"It is always nice to hear good things said about me," he told Marca Radio.

"However, I am happy here and I have everyone's trust.

"This is very important for me - to be at a big club and have the complete confidence of the coach."

Fabregas added that he had spoken with his agent and that Diaz had denied holding talks with Calderon.

"If he said that at no time he spoke to Real Madrid, it means that he hasn't," stressed Fabregas.

"I have complete confidence in him."

Arsenal boss Wenger must explain linesman rap:

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been asked to explain his latest outburst against match officials and the disciplinary procedure by the Football Association.

The Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup at Blackburn, where manager Wenger used his post-match press conference to launch a tirade over the fall-out from the mass brawl which marred Sunday's Carling Cup final.

His comments that the assistant referee who Howard Webb consulted before sending off Emmanuel Adebayor was a "liar" have seen the Arsenal manager once again fall foul of the game's governing body.

Wenger will also be asked to explain his claim "the whole system is not honest", in reference to the disciplinary procedures of the FA.

"Questioning the integrity of a match official and accusing them of lying is a very serious claim to make as it questions the whole integrity of the game," said an FA spokesman in a statement.

"We also reject any accusations of bias or dishonesty within our disciplinary system. We will be asking Arsene Wenger to explain these comments."

Wenger said on Wednesday night: "We know he [Adebayor] did not deserve a red card. The linesman lies when he says he [Adebayor] punched Lampard.

"What the linesman said is really lies. It is just not acceptable."

Wenger also questioned why a second Arsenal player, Emmanuel Eboue, faces an FA charge of violent conduct, while opponents Chelsea escaped unscathed.

He added: "It is just a coincidence that you have 20 men who have a brawl and only the Arsenal players were guilty. It is unbelievable but maybe they [the FA] have their own way to do justice."

Lampard has, through his agent, maintained he was not punched by Adebayor.

However, the FA moved to clarify the situation and the statement continued: "Contrary to Wenger's allegations, the assistant referee's report does not claim that Adebayor punched Frank Lampard.

"The report states that Adebayor's attitude was aggressive, that he shoved into Ricardo Carvalho and that he aimed a punch at Lampard. It does not state that Adebayor struck Lampard.

"Adebayor was sent off for violent conduct on Sunday. His claim for wrongful dismissal was rejected by a disciplinary commission on Tuesday.

"He was also charged with reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play immediately after being sent off.

"He denied the charge and will have a personal hearing on Tuesday 6 March."

Cole - I was right to leave Arsenal:

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole believes last weekend's Carling Cup victory proves he was right to quit Arsenal for Stamford Bridge.

Cole was part of the side that beat the Gunners 2-1 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba.

The on-pitch brawl between players from each side may have marred the event somewhat but Cole insists the win in Cardiff only served to underline his decision to make the short move across London.

He told Chelsea TV: "I feel a part of it at Chelsea now. The fans seem to like me and I love the fans.

"I'm enjoying life, the manager's good and after six or seven months here I've already won a medal.

"That's why I came here."

The England full-back admits it was a hard decision to leave Arsenal but insisted that such decisions are part of any footballer's life.

"Life moves on. I loved Highbury, I loved the fans but I've moved on.

"I've seen myself in a red shirt all my life and then I'm in a blue one. But it happens, players move from team to team and it doesn't mean I'm a traitor.

"For me it's been a move for the better."

Cole, speaking ahead of Saturday evening's clash at Portsmouth, also praised Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho who has impressed the 26-year-old with his man-management skills.

"He's a great manager," he added.

"I didn't think he'd be so intense with the players and so focused on the welfare of players. He seems to be a very good manager and gets to know players on and off the pitch.

"If you're playing badly he'll tell you and you know if you don't improve you'll be off.

"He should keep on doing it because it seems to work."

Wenger stunner - Rivals earning money off Arsenal's back:

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has accused rival Premiership clubs of earning money off their hard work.

Wenger maintains his side's free-flowing style makes them the standard-bearers for Premiership football - and that some other clubs, who have been boosted financially by the latest £600million TV deal, earn money off Arsenal's back.

He explained: "If England sells football at a heavy, heavy price abroad and that money is shared with everybody, it's not because of the teams who kick - it's because of the teams who play football.

"And I think that deserves some respect as well.

"This money goes to all the clubs, even if they get praise when they kick us off the park.

"We played the other night at Blackburn. We were not good, we lost . . . good luck Blackburn. But at the end of the day Blackburn committed 30 fouls.

"Pedersen does Eboue on purpose, he gets away without any yellow card, nobody says a word.

"But if somebody pushed somebody else with one hand the whole country is shocked."

Thierry Henry feels he is still paying the price for playing earlier in the season when he was not fully fit:

The Arsenal striker had very little time off last summer after representing France at the World Cup, and was below his best for the first half of the Premiership campaign.

He had a month off around Christmas and seemed refreshed when he returned to action, but he has missed Arsenal's last two games with a foot injury and admits he is frustrated by his ongoing fitness problems.

"It is difficult to handle at the moment because I am not used to being injured," Henry wrote in his programme notes for Saturday's game against Reading.

"Perhaps it was due to happen to me, though, because since I arrived at Arsenal I have not really had that.

"I think I made a mistake at the beginning of the season when I played while not fully fit after the World Cup. I guess I am paying for that now.

"I always knew this would be a difficult season for me physically, but I did not expect to have so many niggling injuries.

"After the Middlesbrough game I thought I was back to my best, but then that kick on the foot I got there set me back."

Henry is rated 50-50 for the second leg of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven.

Arsenal midfielder Gilberto says he has only ever experienced racism once during a game in Holland:

The Brazilian played for the Gunners at PSV Eindhoven soon after he made the switch from Atletico Mineiro in 2002 and has revealed that he and captain Thierry Henry were on the receiving end of racist songs.

"I never experienced this kind of thing in particular, but when I first came to Arsenal we had it," he said.

"We were playing in Holland and it was against PSV.

"At the end, some of the fans started to sing monkey songs. But I just noticed it at the end of the game.

"The players were talking about it. They were upset but, for me, it didn't have any effect because I couldn't understand it and I was fully focused on the match.

"That was the only time I've really had this particular kind of problem."

Stephen Hunt has continued his feud with Jens Lehmann by suggesting the Arsenal goalkeeper is unpopular even with his own team-mates:

The pair first crossed words when Lehmann criticised Hunt for his collision with Petr Cech which resulted in the Chelsea goalkeeper suffering a fractured skull.

At Emirates Stadium on Saturday the players clashed again when Lehmann accused Hunt of diving following a brief exchange and Hunt has now upped the ante, describing Lehmann as an angry and unpopular player.

He told the Reading Chronicle: "Jens Lehmann - that wonderful keeper. To be honest, I shouldn't have gone down. He did catch me a bit, but it wasn't much. It was more to do with frustration on my behalf.

"He was fighting with his own players. It wasn't just once, it was three or four times during the game where he had a go at his own team - he'd have a fight with his own shadow.

"What's the point in picking fights with everyone? It's all part of his character. I think he pretends to be angry all the time when he isn't.

"I didn't need him piping up after the Chelsea game. It had nothing to do with him. Not many people like him. He's an angry man."

***, thierry gets injured for all the season, bad luck again for the gunners.

I'm really surprised Wenger played Henry.  I know they had to go all out but now you're season could really turn into more of a nightmare, it's a shame really.

---

I'd waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that, you ***. And don't ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries.”
Roy Keane

^^^NEWSROOM...no chatting. leave that to the official thread...thanks

Cesc Fabregas insists Arsenal are still aiming to claim second spot in the Premiership this season:

Though The Gunners have a game in hand, they still trail Chelsea by 11 points in the quest to secure automatic qualification for next season's UEFA Champions League.

But despite the odds seemingly against Arsenal overhauling Chelsea, Fabregas has been buoyed by Wednesday's 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

"We needed a victory like that where maybe we didn't play our best game, but we showed patience and we were a bit lucky in the goal that we scored,".

"It's a really good victory for us to see if we can still reach second place, which would be good.

"I believe even more, I think, to say that we can still fight for second place it is really good, so let's see what happens until the end as you can never say never in football."

Arsenal will end the season without any silverware after their recent cup setbacks, but Fabregas is confident the team will be stronger next term.

He added: "I feel the team is growing up and for next season will be great.

"We will benefit from the disappointment of the last two weeks. Whenever you have disappointment, you get stronger and stronger and stronger.

"We were all low after the PSV Eindhoven game. Whenever we lose it is a disappointment because we are Arsenal and we always have to be at the top.

"All our fans want us to win trophies. This year it is not going to be possible unless something strange happens in the league, but we have still got belief.

"You have to come back and be stronger in life and similar sorts of things happen in football. Now we have to learn from these mistakes."

Tomas Rosicky is looking to finish the season strongly after returning to action in Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Aston Villa:

The Czech midfielder had been sidelined for three weeks due to groin trouble but came on in the second half at Villa Park on Wednesday.

He insists he felt no pain and is now ready to play a full part in Arsenal's last ten games of the season.

"The injury break was not pleasant at all," Rosicky said on his personal website.

"After the groin problem, I joined training on Monday and on Tuesday the coach nominated me for the Aston Villa game.

"I am glad that I appeared on the pitch for the final half hour because I have proved to myself that I am 100 per cent fit again.

"I did not feel any problems, the pain is definitely gone and I can now focus fully on football."

Arsenal have had a disappointing run in the cups over the last few weeks but Rosicky believes finishing third in the Premiership would be a big lift.

"The win was very important, as we have moved ahead of Liverpool," he explained.

"That is a big target for the last stage of the league."

Arsenal are ready to finalise a deal with Real Madrid for striker Julio Baptista, according to reports in Spain:

The Brazilian ace is currently on a season-long loan deal from the Spanish giants with Jose Antonio Reyes moving in the opposite direction.

Following a slow start to life in England, Baptista has impressed, particularly in cup competitions, and manager Arsene Wenger is now ready to retain the Samba star.

The North Londoners are believed to be in advanced talks with Real for Baptista, although the club's option of €20million (£13.6million) is likely to be negotiated.

However, The Gunners are unlikely to be able to use Reyes in the deal as Real are not looking to make his Bernabeu stay a permanent move.

Uefa Cup holders Sevilla have been linked with a move for their former star, although nothing official has come from the Liga's joint-leaders.