Wenger wants taylor kicked out for horror tackle
Furious Arsene Wenger called for Birmingham's Martin Taylor to be kicked out of football for this horror tackle which broke Arsenal star Eduardo's leg. The striker's career hangs in the balance after Taylor made a sickening third-minute lunge which earned him a straight red card in the 2-2 draw at St Andrew's. And Wenger stormed: "Taylor should never play again. People will say he is not the type of guy who does that. But it is like a guy who kills only once in his life. There is still a dead person."
Arsene Wenger went to war with Alex McLeish over the horror tackle that broke Eduardo's leg. Wenger accused Birmingham defender Martin Taylor of deliberately trying to injury the striker and said his third-minute tackle was "unforgivable". But Brum boss McLeish hit back, claiming it was an unfortunate accident and insisted Taylor is "not a dirty player".
Worried Gunners chiefs fear Brazil-born Croatian Eduardo, 25 tomorrow, sustained a sickening compound fracture of his fibula and tibia in Taylor's horrendous lunge. The 12-goal hitman underwent surgery in Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital and was detained overnight. Furious Wenger stormed: "The injury is the result of a very bad tackle. It is not forgivable. The first impression is that it is very, very bad. We are talking about the end of the season at least but it could be more serious. This guy (Taylor) should never play again. People will say he is not the type of guy who does that. It is like a guy who kills one time in his life. There is still a dead person. It is absolutely horrendous. You watch the tackle and say the guy has played the ball. It is not acceptable. If we accept that, it has to stop."
"It goes along with the idea that to stop Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal. We knew that kind of thing would happen one day. We have experienced a few horrendous tackles since the start of the season. I knew that would happen one day. We have to fight against all that. I am not qualified to go into detail but the news is that it is very bad. When you see that tackle again, the first worry is not to play the ball. The first worry is to play the man first and go down on the shin to play the ball after. We were affected 100 per cent by the injury. It had a big effect on us."
Wenger later withdrew these comments saying: "It was a highly emotional afternoon and we were all shocked by the injury to Eduardo," said Wenger. "On reflection, I feel that my comments about Martin Taylor were excessive. I said what I did immediately after the game in the heat of the moment." As soon as Eduardo went crashing to the ground, his Arsenal colleagues realised the horrific nature of his injury and called for immediate help as ref Mike Dean waved a red card at Taylor. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas was visibly sickened and striker Emmanuel Adebayor clasped his hands together in prayer. Other players turned their heads away in horror. Eduardo received treatment on the pitch for seven minutes and was given oxygen as paramedics and Arsenal physio Gary Lewin attended to him.
McLeish said he did not want to engage in a slanging match with Wenger but jumped to Taylor's defence. The Scot said: "I don't want to comment on what Arsene Wenger has said. Over the years Martin Taylor has never been a dirty player. Eduardo was just too quick for him. "After the game a microphone has been thrust into Arsene's face and managers react like that sometimes. That's up to Arsene what he says.
"I have just seen the tackle on television and it is on his ankle. It is not high. It is not on his shin or his knee. "Martin Taylor is distraught — not with the sending-off but with the player's injury. "I thought he had mistimed his tackle. You see millions of tackles like that in the Premier League. If you slow them right down they can look horrendous. I thought the referee reacted to the injury rather than the tackle. "I said before the game we don't have the type of play in us to be physical. "Look at the size of Arsenal's players compared with ours. We have lamented the fact that we are quite a small team who have conceded a few set-piece goals. We are not physical in any shape or form. We had to get close to Arsenal and not let them play their fantastic passing game."
Birmingham officials later issued a statement expressing their sympathy for the Eduardo injury. It said: "The club are saddened that a fantastic game of football has been marred by a serious injury to the Arsenal player Eduardo. "Martin Taylor is adamant there was no malicious intent in the tackle and is deeply upset by the extent of Eduardo's injury. The club and Martin Taylor would like to send best wishes to Eduardo for a speedy recovery." Birmingham's 10 men nicked a point through James McFadden's penalty in stoppage time. The Scot had opened the scoring with a free-kick before Theo Walcott's double put Arsenal ahead.
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