"I don't agree with the referee's decision," he said. "We had the same situation when we played Newcastle recently and Carlos Tevez was fouled but the referee showed only a yellow card.
"I thought if it was the last man and a goal-scoring opportunity it was a red card but when Chamakh touched the ball it was going out or to the goalkeeper. I'm not angry but I don't like it. Against Arsenal, going down to 10 men is the worst thing that can happen. It's difficult enough 11 versus 11 but 10 versus 11 is worse."
Arsenal took advantage of the extra man with goals from Samir Nasri, Alexandre Song and the substitute Nicklas Bendtner condemning City to a first home defeat of the season. Mancini defended his selection of Boyata.
"I don't think that would have changed the situation," he said, when it was put to him that the more experienced Lescott could have played instead. "That [red card] was the decisive moment though. My opinion is that 11 versus 11 we would have won. As it is, I'm still proud of my players. We still played very well, we were always trying to score and we showed why we are one of the best teams in the league."
Arsène Wenger's opinion on the red card was that "the referee had no option" and he was particularly pleased about the way his players made sure they retained their advantage. "After the sending off it became a bit electric," he said. "We got some quick yellow cards but it was important not to get a sending off and I asked the players at half-time to focus on playing football, not just defending our advantage, to be positive.
"Overall I am very pleased because it looks like we have matured in terms of knowing how to handle the difficulties of the game and not to get a red card."
This was the first victory for Arsenal in 10 games against City, Manchester United and Chelsea. "I cannot explain why that is but it is true," Wenger said. "Some games we got close then just lost. At Chelsea we lost 2-0 and, watching it again, I still can't understand why. But I hope it gives us belief and confidence to transfer that into more games.
"It was under special circumstances, maybe, but it was important to get a win at a big place, in terms of the strength and belief of our squad and continuing our march forward. We needed calm and intelligence and gave the performance that you need to play against 10 men."
The Arsenal manager was particularly effusive about Nasri as a key figure in the team. "He is becoming more efficient and stronger physically," he said. "You judge a player on what he does and today he got a goal and an assist which is what you want from a player like him. He is a complete player because he runs with the ball, is quick and he's now a clinical finisher. We have a great player."
City had a number of good opportunities but Lukasz Fabianski had a fine game in the Arsenal goal, producing two good saves from David Silva. "From game to game, he shows what we see in training," Wenger said.
A bad day for City was compounded by the sight of their leading scorer, Tevez, limping off in the second half. "He took a knock in the first half and after the break he couldn't run," Mancini said.
Source: Daniel Taylor, The Guardian on 24 Oct 10
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