It visibly pained him to do so, but Arsène Wenger conceded that Jack Wilshere deserved to be sent off for a horrendous lunge of the type he has so often blamed upon Arsenal’s more lumpen opponents.
For more than two years, Wenger’s collisions with Birmingham City have been spiked by memories of the badly broken leg that Eduardo, the former Arsenal striker, sustained in Feb 2008 under a horribly mistimed challenge from Martin Taylor. By common consent, the Brazilian-born forward has never rediscovered his best form since, and the same fate could easily have befallen Nikola Zigic after his ankle was scythed by Wilshere’s studs.
