Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, told Arsène Wenger to show some respect after his Arsenal counterpart refused to shake his hand at the end of a tempestuous Carling Cup quarter-final last night.
City face a showdown with Manchester United in the semi-finals after an impressive 3-0 win at home to a youthful Arsenal secured their place in the last four of a leading cup competition for the first time in 28 years.
The victory eased the pressure on Hughes, whose future has come under scrutiny after a run of seven successive draws in the Barclays Premier League. But the City manager was furious at Wenger’s snub at the final whistle and waved sarcastically as the Arsenal manager went down the tunnel.
“It was his choice,” Hughes said after second-half goals from Carlos T?vez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss had killed off Arsenal.
“At one point he questioned why I was over on his side of the technical area. He may have been a little bit aggrieved by that, but I would suggest he was more aggrieved that his team got beat.
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“I have been to the Emirates Stadium and been beaten 6-2 but I still offer my hand. It’s the best you can do. There are certain protocols and maybe on this occasion Arsène has not worked with that.
“I was a little bit disappointed because I have got huge respect for him and maybe he needs to be a little but more gracious. You don’t need to do that and just not shake someone’s hand to show you’re upset.”
There has been a history of bad blood between Hughes and Wenger, dating back to an FA Cup semi-final in April 2005, when the Welshman was in charge of Blackburn Rovers.
Wenger took exception to Blackburn’s “bully boy” tactics that day, not least an elbow by Andy Todd on Robin van Persie. He refused to explain why he had stormed off last night, but denied that it had anything to do with City’s approach.
“Well, I think that has not a lot to do with the game,” he said. “I’m free to shake hands with whom I want after the game. I have nothing more to say about that.”
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Asked if it was not professional courtesy to shake an opposing manager’s hand, Wenger added: “Yes, it is. I had no professional courtesy.”
Hughes is relishing the prospect of a meeting with United in the last four. City will host United on January 6, with the return leg at Old Trafford on January 20. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, accused City of being “noisy neighbours” after winning a controversial derby 4-3 at Old Trafford in September and Hughes is expecting more fireworks.
“It’s a fantastic draw,” he said. “We are excited by it and the wider world as well, I think. We are going to enjoy it. Over two games we’d back ourselves against anyone and will try to get to a Wembley final that this club hasn’t for a long time.
“There has been a little bit of negativity in recent weeks but I think that has been alleviated this evening. It has been a frustration for everyone but we’ve played 16 or 17 games and only been beaten in one. You can’t deny we are going in the right direction now.”
Wenger played down the importance of the Carling Cup after insisting he would not abandon his policy of blooding youngsters in the competition. “To play in the quarter-final of the Champions League or the semi-final or final is ten times more difficult than to win the Carling Cup,” he said.
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Blackburn Rovers will face Aston Villa in the other semi-final, but Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, refused to blame Ga?l Kakuta after his failure from the spot in a shoot-out at Ewood Park.
Chelsea lost 4-3 on penalties after an enthralling tie ended 3-3 after extra time, when Kakuta’s kick was saved by Paul Robinson. Chelsea had played for 50 minutes with ten men after Ancelotti, who had already made eight changes to his starting line-up, lost Salomon Kalou to injury, having used all three substitutes at half-time.
“I took the risk,” Ancelotti said, “then Kalou had the injury and we ended up with ten against eleven. I don’t usually change all three at half-time, but I thought it was best for us.
“And all the young players who came on will play in the future for us. I put Kakuta in for the penalty, I chose him to take the fifth. I saw him in training all week and he was very good.”