STEVE Cook claimed he had seen “far worse” tackles go unpunished than the one Simon Francis was sent off for against Arsenal on Tuesday.

Cherries are appealing their skipper’s red card, dished out by referee Michael Oliver for Francis’s challenge on Aaron Ramsey when Eddie Howe’s side were desperately protecting a 3-2 lead in the game’s closing stages.

With Olivier Giroud ultimately nicking a draw for the Gunners in stoppage time, Cook was left ruing a decision he said had “cost” his team.

He told the Daily Echo: “I think it was harsh. At the time, with the speed of the play, I wasn’t too sure about the decision.

“It looked a hard tackle but I’ve seen far worse in previous games and a red card not given.

“I think that cost us. When we were down to 10 men we didn’t have an outlet to look after the ball high up the pitch.”

Cherries led Arsenal 3-0 with 20 minutes to play, at which point Arsene Wenger’s men launched their fightback with quick-fire goals from Alexis Sanchez and Lucas Perez.

“It was close to being a complete performance,” said Cook.

“I thought we were outstanding up until 70 minutes, then the game really changed. We were 3-0 up and cruising to be honest, absolutely cruising.

“The first goal changed things, then conceding the second goal so quickly got them back in the game.

“The momentum swung, the red card happened and it was probably only a matter of time before they scored the equaliser.

“They were always going to flood the box and they had three or four players queuing up ready to head it into the net.”

Arsenal had arrived at Vitality Stadium seeking to close to six points the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea.

But Cook said he had not been surprised by the manner in which Cherries had overwhelmed their high-flying opponents for such an extended period. He said: “We were aware of the busy schedule they had had. We knew we would be fitter than them and have the fresher legs.

“Hopefully, come the end of the season it will look like a good point – although it doesn’t feel that way right now.”

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was fiercely critical of the Premier League for allowing his team only 48 hours’ rest between games against Crystal Palace and Cherries.

Nevertheless, Howe’s team were playing for a second time in four days against the Gunners – and fulfilling a third fixture inside nine days.

Cook confessed the gruelling schedule had taken its toll as Arsenal put their foot to the floor.

He added: “I felt strong and fit but towards the end I was cramping up and it was hard to jump – it was hard to get us up the pitch.

“But, considering the number of games we’ve had in so little time, all the lads were very good.”