Carling Cup issues, Wenger Accuses Carling Cup Linesman Of Lying

Arsene Wenger has defended Emmanuel Adebayor following his Carling Cup final red-card and has accused the linesman of lying over the incident.

Emmanuel Adebayor is to be banned for three matches but there has been some confusion over what he was sent-off for, as it originally seemed to be a mistaken identity relating to a punch from Emmanuel Eboue on Wayne Bridge.

However, Adebayor has been accused of hitting Frank Lampard. Wenger denies this to be the case, saying: "We don't agree with the statement of the linesman. I think it's a lie.

"He comes out now and says Adebayor punched Lampard. I'd like Lampard to come out and say Adebayor punched him.
"There are players that have punched that haven't been charged."

Adebayor was furious over the red-card decision and had to be persuaded to leave the field, which may yet land him in yet more trouble with the Football Association.

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Adebayor predicts Arsenal glory.

Emmanuel Adebayor is sure Arsenal will be a major force in all competitions next season - and has predicted they can achieve a 100% winning home record.

The Togo international striker has scored 10 goals for the Gunners this term, including two against Bolton in the FA Cup win on Wednesday.

And he said: "We have a young squad getting better and better, and we will be ready for everything next year."

"I think we will get maximum points from every home game next season."

He added: "Our aim is to be up there with Manchester United and Chelsea in the league and I believe we can be."

But there is the small matter of Arsenal's involvement in the Carling Cup final, the FA Cup and the Champions League before that.

And Adebayor is relishing the chance to win some silverware with the club he joined from Monaco in January 2006.

"This season we still have great opportunities for success," he said.

"Getting through in the FA Cup at a place like Bolton has given us an enormous amount of confidence.

"It was great for me to get two goals and you could see from our reaction at the end of the game how much the win meant to us."

Bolton 1-3 Arsenal FA Cup

Ljungberg puts Arsenal through on roller coaster

Freddie Ljungberg and Emmanuel Adebayor struck in extra time to give Arsenal an FA Cup fifth round tie with Blackburn - despite missing two penalties.

Adebayor's early goal looked to have put Arsenal through, but Gilberto Silva's penalty miss gave Bolton hope. Abdoulaye Meite scrambled a last-gasp equaliser, but substitute Ljungberg was on target after 108 minutes.Bolton's Tal Ben Haim was sent off and Julio Baptista missed Arsenal's second spot-kick before Adebayor scored again.

Pre match video and Kick Off:

Arsenal were missing the likes of Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann and Cesc Fábregas and Wenger was indebted to some defiant goalkeeping from Manuel Almunia and some rhythmic performances from Denilson, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky. Hleb, one of their more lightweight players, epitomised their attitude with his desire to get on the ball at every opportunity. Abou Diaby, their tall, wiry French midfielder, provided a robust presence while, in attack, Baptista and Adebayor caused numerous problems with their marauding runs - even if they will both reflect that they could have scored hat-tricks.

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce:
"We are just disappointed that we did not pull off a miraculous victory.

"We weren't over-awed and always had the ability to hang in there, even though it was difficult at times.

"It was a great effort and commitment from the players and they were brilliant right through to extra time."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:
"I think it was a fantastic cup tie and a fantastic performance from my team and we were outstanding.

"It was frustrating to go to extra time, but it's a good mental test.

"You concede with one minute to go and it's a good challenge for such young players to see how they respond - and we found resources to win it."

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Campo, Meite, Ben Haim, Gardner (Pedersen 84), Giannakopoulos (Vaz Te 74), Teymourian (Tal 84), Speed, Nolan, Diouf, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Walker, Fojut.

Sent Off: Ben Haim (117).

Booked: Ben Haim, Campo, Anelka.

Goals: Meite 90.

Arsenal: Almunia, Diaby, Toure, Djourou (Hoyte 92), Clichy, Hleb (Ljungberg 78), Silva, Denilson, Rosicky (Aliadiere 90), Adebayor, Julio Baptista.
Subs Not Used: Poom, Walcott.

Booked: Ljungberg.

Goals: Adebayor 13, Ljungberg 108, Adebayor 120.

Match Highlights and goals: