原文:
Wenger lost in translation
Saturday December 18 2004
Arsene Wenger has never been one to mix his words, but admits sometimes they get lost in translation.
Earlier this week, the Frenchman was fined a record £15,000 and warned about his future conduct by the Football Association following his outburst against Ruud van Nistelrooy, branding the striker `a cheat' in the aftermath of Manchester United's 2-0 win which ended the Gunners 49-game unbeaten Premier League record.
Sir Alex Ferguson - who had been pelted with pizza and soup outside the dressing room area in chaotic scenes after the final whistle at Old Trafford - questioned why Wenger requestged a personal hearing at Soho Square and then did not bother to attend.
The Arsenal manager, though, wants to put the incident behind him.
``I just want to go on with my life,'' declared Wenger. ``I knew what the outcome would be.
``I said what I had to say and not a lot has changed. I knew it would cost some money.''
Wenger added: ``I say what I feel, what I want to say.
``I am, though, not pretentious enough to say that I am always right.''
The Frenchman accepts he could have used a different phrase to describe van Nistelrooy, but nevertheless stands by his observations.
``I feel it is a misinterpretation when you translate from French into English,'' he reflected.
``In England you say to somebody `you cheat' it is a big insult, if you translate that in French, you say `il triche`. I cannot say `you cheat with the rules'? I do not find another word.
``In England, it is just a word you cannot say - I don`t know why. Why do you have in your dictionary a word you cannot use?
``It is strange. It is a cultural thing.''
He added: ``I said what I felt what was happening on the pitch on the day of the game.
``Maybe I translated it in bad words or clumsy words, but the FA found him guilty and suspended him for three games - you cannot say he did not cheat the rules.
``Then how do you say that? I am always keen to learn.''
Wenger now hopes it will be his side's football which once again make the headlines.
Arsenal head to Portsmouth tomorrow on the back of some much-improved displays in recent weeks.
A 3-0 win over Birmingham in the Barclays Premiership was followed by a 5-1 demolition of Rosenborg to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will face Bayern Munich.
While Wenger believes his squad are now re-focused, and will be led again by skipper Patrick Vieira tomorrow following his one-match ban against Chelsea last weekend, he is not expecting an easy ride at Fratton Park.
Pompey have certainly played up since the controversial departure of Harry Redknapp, and the Arsenal manager reflected: ``It will be an interesting game because they are in a good position at the moment.
``We have, I feel, built up our confidence again and so it should be an interesting game.''