Di Matteo - Wilshere at fault

The Baggies' Carling Cup tie at the Emirates Stadium was finely poised when the visitors were reduced to 10 men.

Thomas was shown the red card when he pushed the 17-year-old in the face but Di Matteo believes Wilshere contributed to the fracas.

"Thomas went to shake hands with Wilshere, he refused and Thomas reacted, so it was a red card," the Italian said.

"But there was an exchange of words and there was a reaction.

Turning Point
"I am disappointed Wilshere did not accept his hand, of a fellow colleague, but that is part of the game."

The former MK Dons was left rueing the one-man disadvantage as Arsenal went on to win 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Sanchez Watt and Carlos Vela.

Di Matteo thought his side were starting to get the upper hand in the game and believes the result could have been very different had Thomas not been dismissed.

"That was the turning point. I felt before Thomas ! got sent off, we were starting to get on top of them," he added.

"We were just getting control of the game, and I thought we had a good chance to win tonight. But well done to Arsenal. They are very talented and congratulations to them."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger maintained that he did not know the full details of the incident but said that any aggressive reactions are likely to land a player in trouble.


Reaction
"My eyes are not great and my ears are even worse. I could not hear anything from the touchline," he said.

"Thomas has reacted, and in these cases you always need to control your nerves, whether he has any excuses, I do not know.

"Jack said he had been kicked. Certainly it would have been a great game if had stayed 11 against 11."

Wenger was quick to sing the praises of Mexican forward Carlos Vela, who created one goal and scored another as the Gunners settled the tie late on.

! The French manager revealed that Vela could feature in Arsenal! 's first -team plans when he has reached the required level of fitness.

"When Vela came on, straight away he made a difference," Wenger added.

"He is dangerous in his control, movement and class. He gives you something special. However, he was not ready to start tonight and still has work to do on his fitness.

"But he is in my plans for the first team - he can play wide left, wide right or central. He gives you plenty of options."