BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes angrily accused Arsene Wenger of taking a cheap shot' after the Arsenal manager slammed Rovers for being violent' during yesterday's feisty 1-1 draw at Ewood.

Wenger attempted to re-open the old bully-boy debate by saying Rovers were over-physical, and there was a desire of violence more than commitment' in some of their challenges.

However, Hughes was quick to hit back at his Arsenal counterpart, claiming Wenger was hiding behind those comments' after seeing his team out-played over the course of the 90 minutes.

The war of words between the two rival managers started when Wenger said: "I thought we were very resilient against a team that was over-physical.

"I felt there was sometimes a desire of violence more than commitment in some challenges, and we dealt well with the problem we had."

Those remarks clearly infuriated Hughes, who retaliated by accusing Wenger of being ungracious.

Referring to the Arsenal boss's reaction to the game, Hughes said: "That surprises me. It's a cheap shot, and he's hiding behind those comments because his side was dominated over 90 minutes.

"I don't think he's being very gracious. I'm deeply disappointed."

It's not the first time Wenger has complained about Rovers' physical approach; he was similarly scathing after the two sides met in a spiky FA Cup semi-final at the Millennium Stadium two years ago.

But Hughes believes his latest attack was completely uncalled for, and he pointed to a particularly nasty challenge by Robin Van Persie as evidence that both sides were dishing it out yesterday.

"That attitude surprises me because probably the worst challenge of the day was Van Persie's," said the Rovers boss.

"I saw the lad Kitson (from Reading) get sent off for a challenge like that, and Alex Ferguson had a view on that challenge, and Van Persie's was exactly the same.

"So there's two teams and two views, I'm sure."

Overall, eight players got booked in the game - four from each side - and Ryan Nelsen also saw red for a second bookable offence on Van Persie.

However, Rovers' 10-men grabbed a richly deserved point when David Dunn cancelled out a first half effort from Van Persie.

Hughes added: "I thought we were excellent and dominated the game from start to finish, to be fair.

"We were very much on the front foot, we pressurised Arsenal, and the key players they had had little effect on the game because we didn't allow them too, and we played the better football, I felt.

"Certainly in the second half, I felt it was only a matter of time before we got back in the game, and we possibly could have snatched it towards the end.

"With about 25 minutes to go they had to make a change because we were well in the ascendancy, and they had to pack the midfield somewhat just to try and curb the amount of play we were having at the time.

"Obviously, the sending off stopped us in our tracks but overall, I'm absolutely delighted with the manner of the performance."