Mourinho rues Henry's cheeky strike

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho left Highbury satisfied with a point yesterday but was unable to stomach Arsenal's controversial…

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho left Highbury satisfied with a point yesterday but was unable to stomach Arsenal's controversial second goal.

The Portuguese coach, whose team twice came back from a goal down to keep a five-point lead over champions Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, was fuming after what he considered a breach of the rules regarding Thierry Henry's second strike.

The French forward clipped the ball home from a first-half free kick even though Chelsea were still disputing the decision with referee Graham Poll and had not formed their wall.

"I think if you can forget the way Arsenal scored the second goal, the result was correct," Mourinho told reporters.

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"Because it's difficult for me to forget Arsenal's second goal, I don't think the result was fair.

"I'm more than unhappy, unhappy is a nice word. I cannot say the word in my heart and my soul.

"I know the rules. The rules are the same all over the world -- first division, second division, China, Japan, Mexico, England... It doesn't matter if you are playing in the best league in the world or the youth team.

"In pre-season we had a top referee at (Chelsea's training ground) Harlington for a meeting with us. One of the things he explained to us about was walls, distance and whistle. Everything was clear."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he understood the rule to mean that a referee could ask the free kick taker if he wanted to wait until the defensive wall was formed or not.

"I don't agree with the rule, because it's difficult to defend," the Frenchman said. "The same thing happened to us against Leeds a couple of years ago."

Mourinho said he thought his players deserved credit for staying calm despite the controversy.

"They were losing twice at Highbury, but they kept control," he said. "Especially when you get unusual situations in big matches players can lose control but my players were fantastic, they kept cool.

"I have to congratulate every man on the pitch because there was a lot of aggressive, but fair, play and I have to congratulate the referee because, apart from the second goal, he was very good. The result is acceptable."