Arsene Wenger: English players may be the ‘masters’ of diving

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that English players may now be the “masters” of diving - even more than their foreign counterparts.

Following the accusations that Tottenham stars Dele Alli and Harry Kane dived in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, Wenger has had his say on the matter just days before the North London derby takes place on Saturday.

Earlier this week Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino told The Guardian that “tricking the opponent” is part of football, but Wenger says he would never encourage his players to take a dive during a game.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Quoted by the Daily Mail, Wenger told a press conference today: “We have to get the diving out of the game. I remember there were tremendous cases here when foreign players did it but I must say the English players have learned very quickly and they might even be the masters now.

“I am convinced that he [Pochettino] wanted to say that tricking your opponent is to say that you have to be clever. How far was it an apology for diving? I’m not sure at all. I don’t think he would.

“In my personal case? No. I don’t encourage my players to dive at all. But if you look at the situation, sometimes you want your players to be intelligent.

“Every striker will do that. They extend the rules [a little bit]. How far can you go? That is down to the referees.”

Spurs vs. Arsenal: what time does the North London derby kick-off?

Tottenham host Arsenal in the North London derby at Wembley Stadium on Saturday at 12.30pm. The match is live on BT Sport.