Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce refused to apologise for his side's approach to the game against Arsenal, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the home side at Ewood Park.

Goals from David Dunn and Christopher Samba secured the win, with Gunners manager Arsene Wenger feeling that his goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski, should have been given greater protection at set-pieces.

Allardyce responded by saying:"He is entitled to his opinion.

"Whatever has happened between us in the past and it has been a little frosty on occasions, I have always respected him as a manager.

"He is a terrific manager and what he has done for Arsenal is magnificent, but we can't play like them so we didn't. We set out to spoil them and the spoiling tactics worked.

"They are one of the big four and when you are beating one of them it is not expected.

"Then it is a bit of emotion after the game that they are upset about something which has not gone their way.

"But I can assure you that most of the time, throughout the season, the big boys get the rub of the green more than the likes of Blackburn Rovers.

"We play the game as managers, we look at each other and you see if you can find any weaknesses in the opposition manager as well as the team.

"Criticising me is great because I'd sooner him criticise me when I've beaten them, rather than him praising me when they've beaten us."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email