Kiss my Arsenal - McCarthy fumes over Wolves' bum deal

MICK McCARTHY accused referee Stuart Attwell of crumbling under the pressure of the Emirates.

Wolves midfielder Nenad Milijas was given a harsh red card and boss McCarthy said: "As long as there is a hole in my bum, that was never a sending off.

"I will go and ask Stuart. I think that rarified atmosphere at the Emirates is a difficult place to work in whether you are a player, coach, manager, referee or assistant.

"It's pretty pressurised out there and I think there was a lot of pressure on him to do it."

McCarthy, whose side moved two points clear of the drop zone, added: "Somebody said to me 'he's got his studs up'.

"Well, you generally do if you tackle with your foot sliding in."

Milijas was dismissed in the 75th minute for a challenge on Mikel Arteta.

But Gunners manager Arsene Wenger refused to criticise Attwell, even though the ref missed a Christophe Berra handball in the area.

The Frenchman said: "I have heard that we might have had a penalty. But what can I do?

"It looks like for us to get a penalty we will have to fight very hard."

Wenger was frustrated after failing to take advantage of Chelsea and Manchester City dropping points on Boxing Day.

He said: "It was the kind of game that if you play it 20 times, you win 19 and draw one. The day we couldn't afford to draw was today.

"When you have the luck of the results the previous day, you can take advantage of it. You have to take your opportunities."