**Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hinted that home advantage may have played a part in the award of a penalty to Manchester United in his side’s 2-1 defeat.**With the visitors leading in the second half, referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after Wayne Rooney was apparently tripped by goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
“It was Old Trafford-ish. We know how things work,” said Wenger.
To end his controversial week, Wenger was also sent from the dug-out after a Robin van Persie goal was ruled out.
“I just kicked a bottle of water. I did it because I was disappointed, not because I thought it wasn’t offside,” said Wenger, who was sent off deep in injury time.
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“The final score cannot be changed so Arsenal shall look to the future”
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"The fourth official called the referee over and he sent me off. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t even know where to go.
“I didn’t know you were not allowed to kick a water bottle, although it was a good kick.”
Rooney picked himself up from the Almunia challenge to level from 12 yards before Abou Diaby’s own goal sealed Wenger’s misery.
Earlier in the match, Wenger had seen his own side’s appeals for a penalty waved away after Darren Fletcher’s untidy tackle on Andrey Arshavin.
“Maybe I’m not the most objective,” the Frenchman said. “But I believe it was a penalty.”
On Friday, Wenger reacted angrily to Uefa’s decision to charge striker Eduardo with diving to win a spot-kick in the Gunners’ Champions League win over Celtic on Wednesday.
He accused Uefa of a “witch hunt” and claimed the decision created a precedent that could see virtually every refereeing decision challenged.
“Uefa have opened something there,” said Wenger on Saturday.
“I can guarantee over the weekend I will be able to find 50 similar situations where Uefa must take action or they will have singled out Eduardo as a victim.”
Despite dropping their first Premier League points after emphatic wins over Everton and Portsmouth, Wenger believes his side can take heart for their next match against Manchester City on 12 September.
“We were the better team but we lost the game. It is very difficult to swallow,” he said.
“But I’m very positive because we showed great quality and the performance is encouraging for the future.”
Wenger’s United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson hailed his own side’s determination as they clinched the first of the new term’s clashes between the so-called ‘Big Four’.
Last season United took only five points from a possible 18 against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool on their way to becoming champions.
“One down at half-time, it’s always an uphill task against a team of Arsenal’s capabilities,” he said.
"We had to dig deep and I think in fairness we really did perform well in the second half.
“Last season we lost four points to Arsenal and six to Liverpool. You have to try to correct these things as best you can.”