Angry Blake accuses ref

The Cardiff-born goal star echoed the verdict of his manager Colin Todd when he accused the Tonypandy ref of "bottling it" when he turned down the penalty appeal that cost Wanderers a valuable survival point at the Reebok.

Blake was convinced he'd won a spot-kick when he was hauled down on the edge of the Arsenal box by England defender Martin Keown.

But Mr Burge - the man in the middle at Liverpool three weeks ago when Wanderers lost another close call 2-1 - decided the 64th minute offence was outside the area.

Keown was sent off for the foul, his second bookable offence earning him the distinction of being the 10th dismissal at the stadium in 16 Premiership games.

But Arsenal, leading through Christopher Wreh's spectacular 47th minute strike, held out for a victory that left long-time leaders and previously red-hot title favourites Manchester United quaking in their boots.

Blake had no hesitation in acknowledging that Wanderers were beaten by the best team in the Premiership but is equally convinced they were denied the draw that would have done their survival hopes a power of good.

"We deserved a point at least," he argued. "It was definitely a penalty. Maybe the original offence took place outside the box but the ref didn't blow and when he actually brought me down I was inside. No question about it.

"The ref told Alan Thompson that he'd consulted his linesman to check if it was inside the box or not but that's a cop-out.

"He bottled it. He's a fellow Welshman but that's the second time we've had him in the last couple of weeks or so and he's done us no favours at all.

"Ninety per cent of the stadium could see it was a penalty, but he couldn't."

Todd, who rarely makes an issue of refereeing decisions, agreed: "It was a penalty - I've checked it on the video - but both the referee and linesman bottled it."

We'll never know whether Thompson would have capped an outstanding performance by beating David Seaman from the spot and, if he had, how events would have unfurled over the remaining half hour or so. What we do know is that all Wanderers needed on the night was a break...and they just didn't get it.

They couldn't have put much more into their bid to record their third successive Reebok win. They certainly didn't deserve to have their Premiership future jeopardised.

Yet they remain defiant, buoyed by the fact that they gave Arsene Wenger's title-chasers a real run for their money, and confident they can still avoid relegation.

Wenger, delighted by the victory that takes the Gunners to within three points of United and still with two games in hand, didn't have a view of the penalty but conceded: "It could have been a draw."

Todd, meanwhile, refused to consider the result as a major blow to his hopes of beating the drop.

"We're disappointed but I'm proud of my players," he said after the night's results left Wanderers still three points short of their safety target and having used up their game in hand.

"They made it very difficult for Arsenal and I'm sure their manager would agree with that. If we play like that at Wimbledon on Saturday, we will get something out of the game.

"And if we continue to play in the manner we've been playing lately then we will get out of trouble."

Both managers made the point that Wanderers have improved appreciably since the Gunners romped to a 4-1 win when the teams met at Highbury in September. Whether the improvement has come too late will be judged over the remaining seven games.

It's to be hoped they don't find themselves the victim of any more cruel decisions or on the receiving end of any more snapshots the like of which Wreh unleashed to such devastating effect and with such demoralising consequences.

"That was a goal that would have graced any ground and any game," Todd accepted, "It was a terrific strike."

Once in front, Arsenal weren't going to budge for love nor money.

Not even the loss of Keown was not allowed to upset the most respected back line in English football. Wenger just sent on Steve Bould to take up his familiar position alongside Tony Adams, sacrificing Wreh and leaving Nicola Anelka as his lone attacker. And when Anelka tired, he sent on David Platt!

Wanderers truly gave it their best shot and had Adams and Co on the back foot for much of the second half.

On any other day and against any other defence, Thompson might have emerged once again as the goalscoring saviour.

No-one did more to keep Reebok hopes alive. Energetic and industrious in midfield, he played his way into the best of the scoring chances, sending Seaman full stretch to turn away one swerving, low drive and producing an acrobatic volley in injury-time that, had it been on target, would have sensationally snatched Wanderers the point they deserved. It would have been a fitting personal reward for a fine individual performance.

The studious Wenger appeared to draw a certain masochistic satisfaction from being correct in his forecast that his team faced a battle at the Reebok. The tempo was high and the game was...well, both managers described it as "physical".

Indeed it was. Dutch danger-man Marc Overmars didn't appear for the second half, apparently still suffering the effects of an ankle injury suffered as early as the third minute when Neil Cox tackled his way into a booking.

Wanderers called the early shots with Thompson involved in all the attacking action, forcing Seaman into a foot-of-the-post fumble with a smartly-taken free-kick and laying on headed chances for Dean Holdsworth and Andy Todd.

Arsenal had only two first half opportunities, Anelka threatening on both occasions - the first a volley over after Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira combined, the second a run Keith Branagan was quick to cover. So when Todd stopped the Frenchman in his tracks with a stunning tackle on the edge of the box, just before half time, Wanderers had no reason to fel as though they were being outclassed or outmanoeuvred.

But two minutes after the restart Todd slipped. Wreh spotted his chance and lashed in a right footer from the edge of the box that Branagan would have done well to see, let alone save.

John Salako joined in as Wanderers switched to a 4-4-2 formation in an effort to salvage something and, for the second successive game, Michael Johansen was given a late, explosive burst. But Arsenal haven't conceded a Premiership goal since January 17 and, with the title in sight, they weren't going to start now.

Blake and Holdsworth battered away for all they were worth but they fared no better than the seven previous forward lines which had failed to breach the Gunners' defence.

Uncompromising as well as unflappable, they refuse to stand on ceremony. Three times Blake got the better of his markers - first Adams, next Vieira, then Keown - and three times he was taken out. Third time should have been lucky but it wasn't, leaving the Wales international pleading for more protection.

"You have to say it's good defending but the ref should be doing more to protect me and protect the team," he said, pleadingly.

"Arsenal are a great team and have great defenders. They are the best organised team we have played against - and they have flair in the right places with Anelka, Wreh and Vieira. He makes such a difference to their team - so much so that I think they'd miss him more than they missed Bergkamp.

"But we should still have had at least a draw. And that says a lot about how well we've played."

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