Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger doesn't regard Bolton Wanderers captain Kevin Davies as a dirty player.
Davies conceded more free-kicks than any other player in the top flight last season. Indeed, since he arrived at the Reebok Stadium in the summer of 2003 the 33-year-old has held that mantle in five of his seven campaigns - and finished runner-up the other two years.
It's quite a record but Wenger believes there is a simple explanation.
"I wouldn't call him a dirty player because I feel most of the fouls he commits are in the air," Wenger told arsenal.com. "Most of the time it's not on the ground, it's not down to bad tackling. It's more down to that he's battling in the air.
"I like and respect guys when they are committed as long as it is fair commitment.
"If he has done more fouls than anybody else there must be a reason but I haven't really studied the case."
