Souness Upset At Free-Kick Decision

Referee Alan Wiley deemed Shorts challenge on Thierry Henry, just outside the box, to be a push on the Arsenal striker and he promptly dusted himself down to plant the resulting free kick past Brad Friedel to give Arsenal a one goal advantage.

"A poxy decision has cost us the game. It was never a free-kick, and that changed the game because up until that point we were containing them," said the Rovers boss.

"What we had worked on all week, keeping their major players quiet, was working but you can't legislate for decisions like that going against you.

"One again Lady Luck has not shone on us. If you look at the incident there's a coming together of Craig Short and Thierry Henry, and Henry himself made no appeal for a free-kick and that tells you everything.

"Craig has said that Thierry Henry told him he didn't think it was a free-kick at the time."