London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger vented his anger on his striker Olivier Giroud saying the Frenchman deserved the red card in their Boxing Day encounter against the Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR) in an English Premier League (EPL) encounter in which Arsenal won 2-1.

“It was a deserved red card,” Wenger said.

“He didn’t kill him, but he touched him and should not have done it. He should have been in control. Giroud has apologised. He knows he made a mistake and I know him well enough to think that he will not do it again,” he added.

Wenger also believed that maybe Giroud was a little concerned about getting injured again as he missed the league for around three months nursing an ankle injury.

‘Maybe the injury he had played a part on his mind and he was scared to be injured again. It’s unusual for him. Honestly, he’s usually a guy who is in control of his reactions and quite calm. In my job, you never need that but you have to deal with the mistakes of people,” said the 65-year-old Frenchman.

Just after the breather Nigerian defender Nedum Onuoha tackled Giroud.

Giroud became angry because he thought Onuoha had nudged him from behind as he raced head-to-head for the ball with goalkeeper Rob Green. He spun to the ground, jumped up, confronted the QPR defender, shouted and pushed his head into his face.

Onuoha fell backwards to the ground. It was not the most ferocious assault but he did it and right in front of referee Martin Atkinson, who pulled out his red card without hesitation.

Giroud will now miss two league encounters and a  match because of the red card.