Red for a red: referee Martin Atkinson ends Joe Cole's Liverpool debut prematurely after his late challengeJoe Cole was left 'devastated' after the first red card of his career cut short his Barclays Premier League debut for Liverpool at Anfield.
The summer signing from Chelsea was inconsolable in the dressing room at half-time, seconds after a dismissal that may yet be challenged by Roy Hodgson.
The Liverpool manager, reflecting on a lunging challenge by Cole that left Arsenal newcomer Laurent Koscielny fearing he had broken his leg, said: 'I have seen the TV replays and they suggest he is a little bit unlucky.
'He didn't dive at the player, he dived in front of the ball to try to stop it being cleared up the line.
'He will be a big loss if he is suspended for three games, but we will see if we can find out from some refereeing expert if there is a case for appealing.
'I don't want to make a frivolous appeal, that's for sure. but Joe has an unblemished disciplinary record. He has never been sent off before and has picked up very few yellow cards. He is not the sort who goes in for blood-curdling tackles.
'He was devastated at half-time. It was his debut, the atmosphere was fantastic and he was desperate to do well. He was not at the top of his game, but he was trying so hard to get there.'
Arsene Wenger initially feared Koscielny had become the latest Arsenal player to suffer a serious injury.
'Leg breaker': Arsenal feared the worst over Koscielny after Cole's tackleThe Arsenal manager said: 'The physio actually told me it could be broken, so it was a relief when we discovered his shin pad had protected him.
'He has a big knock on his shin, and it seems Joe Cole kicked him well, if accidentally.'
Arsenal were heading for defeat until Pepe Reina was beaten by Marouane Chamakh in the last minute and compounded the error by pushing the ball over the line after it rebounded off a post.
Hodgson said: 'Pepe has taken it hard. There were a lot of positives from his performance, but the negative was the goal which he would normally have kept out.'
Wenger hinted Arsenal may be his last managerial job after signing a new three-year deal.
Dropped: Pepe Reina scoops the ball into his own net'I love this club and felt that the best way to show my commitment, in the final year of my contract, was to sign a new one, rather than keep saying "maybe" every week,' he said.
'Don't worry, you will see me leave one day, and if we can finish these years in front of me, with the team having done well, I will be happy. If I feel I can't take the team any further, I will go. But I tend not to plan decades ahead at my age.'
source: dailymail
