'It looked harsh'... Wenger defends Flamini's two-footed lunge and confirms Ramsey has suffered another injury setback

Arsene Wenger defended Mathieu Flamini after he was shown a straight red card for a two-footed lunge on Morgan Schneiderlin.

The Arsenal midfielder was sent off in the 80th minute of their 2-2 draw with Southampton on Tuesday night and was lucky not to cost his side the game.

The France international will now miss the next four Arsenal fixtures, including Sunday's game against Crystal Palace, and Wenger's options in midfield will be further limited following a setback in Aaron Ramsey's return.

'Aaron Ramsey is out for longer than we expected as he had a little setback yesterday in training so I couldn't bring him here," Wenger confirmed.

'It is the same muscle. He felt it a bit again so we have to be cautious this time.'

Referee Lee Mason made no hesitation when he strode over to Flamini and immediately brandished the red card.

But Wenger insisted there was no malice in the challenge and believes that not every player who goes into a challenge with two feet off the ground should be dismissed.