Wenger ready to break silence after bust-up

An angry Arsene Wenger gestures towards the celebrating Pardew at Upton Park
14 April 2012

Arsene Wenger is poised to launch a fierce attack on Alan Pardew today in response to the touchline bust-up that marred an ill-tempered London derby and maintained the feud between the rival managers.

Wenger and Pardew were involved in an unseemly shoving match and exchanged heated words after the Arsenal manager took exception to the over-zealous manner in which his West Ham counterpart celebrated Marlon Harewood's late winning goal.

• Wenger shows his passionate side • Bassett: Pardew has no questions to answer • Wenger to face FA rap after pitchside fracas

• Late Harewood strike seals points for West Ham

The furious Arsenal manager chose not to speak to the media in the aftermath of the game and instructed his players to do the same.

Pardew is convinced that Wenger's silence will end today and that he will give his version of the dramatic events that soured the game and which ended in the Frenchman refusing to shake Pardew's hand.

The drama in the dugout spilled on to the pitch and TV pictures showed Cesc Fabregas aimed a punch at Teddy Sheringham shortly after the final whistle and had to be restrained by Harewood from confronting him further when the former England star tried to shake his hand afterwards.

Jens Lehmann was also seen throwing a bottle of water in the direction of the veteran striker, while Thierry Henry had a heated conversation with Sheringham that continued from the pitch and into the tunnel.

It is claimed that Lehmann then swore at Sheringham and the verbal exchanges only ended when the West Ham man stomped off to the home dressing room in disgust.

Police are also investigating after Arsenal striker Robin van Persie appeared to be hit by a coin thrown from the crowd in the first half. The Dutchman continued playing after receiving treatment for a few minutes.

The Football Association will wait to receive referee Rob Styles's report today before launching an investigation.

The drama began when the visitors were denied a second-half penalty by Styles after Alexander Hleb was upended - and their frustration turned to anger when Matthew Etherington was not penalised for the tangle with Mathieu Flamini that preceded the West Ham winger running free to cross for Harewood's side-footed winner.

In the celebrations that followed, Pardew showed a clenched fist in Wenger's direction in the technical area and the Arsenal boss responded by shoving him away.

The pair appeared to exchange words and the Frenchman angrily lifted his arm before they were separated by a fourth official. After the final whistle, Wenger refused to shake hands with Pardew.

Later, the West Ham boss apologised for his actions and insisted his celebrations were not intended to provoke Wenger. "I apologise if I offended him," Pardew said. "It was nothing personal, I was celebrating the goal. He's a top guy and I want to sort things out. It's not right for the game's image."

The episode continues the hostility between the rival bosses, with Wenger accusing his opposite number of racism last season following Pardew's comments about the number of foreign players in Arsenal's squad.

Meanwhile, Hayden Mullins is poised to be rewarded with a new contract for his consistency in West Ham's midfield.

Mullins said: "We are in talks and it should be sorted some time this week."

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe has effectively ruled out the prospect of West Ham moving into a new Olympic Stadium by placing a prohibitive £100million price tag on the project.

Coe said: "If football wants to play within the confines of a track and field configuration and are coming to the table with £100m-plus to make this a viable option, we would look at it.

"But none of the clubs taking a look at this are in the same ball park."

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