Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has suggested that midfielder Francis Coquelin was lucky not to be sent off during the Gunners' 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Frenchman was walking a disciplinary tightrope after being booked on 41 minutes, and tested referee Lee Mason with fouls before and after the break.
Eagles boss Alan Pardew fumed at Mason for not giving him a red card, and Henry, who spent seven years with Arsenal, agrees that Coquelin was fortunate.
"In the second half, since you come out and are still on a yellow, you do not need to commit in the way he did," he told Sky Sports News.
"You have to be smarter, play with your brain. Go, put pressure, stop. He left himself exposed for a red card and he got lucky he was allowed to be substituted."
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring before Joel Ward hit back for the hosts as both sides went into the break with one goal apiece.
However, Damien Delaney's own goal on 55 minutes proved to be the difference as Arsenal picked up their first win of the new Premier League season.
Shane Callaghan
