Cesc Fabregas is the victim of a witch hunt, says angry Arsene Wenger

Moyes claimed Fabregas verbally abused the official at half-time of Tuesday's match with the Gunners 1-0 down courtesy of a controversial Louis Saha goal in which the French striker appeared to be clearly offside.

Arsenal rallied to win 2-1 and the Spaniard later issued a statement admitting he was "upset" at the interval and that "so many things are said in the heat of the moment". But he insisted "I have respect for all match officials and their decisions are final".

An unnamed Everton player was reported to have said: "As we were walking down the tunnel, Fabregas was shouting and screaming, 'How much have you paid the ref?' and 'Everton are a bunch of cheats'."

Fabregas has come under fire from a number of opponents this season - including several Huddersfield players claiming he refused to swap shirts after their FA Cup tie last weekend - and when asked if he thought there was a witch hunt against Fabregas, the Arsenal boss replied: "Yes. We are long enough in the job to know that somebody picks on you for a while and you are in the heat of the moment.

"But for me what is most important is the player behaves well. When Cesc is on the pitch, he tries to play football - I cannot say everybody who plays against him tries to do that.

"For example, some people reproach him for not exchanging shirts with a player after the game but I hope he will not exchange shirts with players who try to kick him for 90 minutes and them come to say, 'Please can I get your shirt'. I think that is a normal reaction.

"Overall this guy is an example on the football pitch and shows you how to play football.

"Cesc Fabregas has not said anything to the referee, I maintain what I say. Cesc Fabregas has not been charged, so this story for me is over.

"I believe that it is wrong for Moyes to come out on what he pretends to have heard in the tunnel.

"If I come out with what I have heard in the tunnel in the last 10 years, you would be amazed. I think there is a rule in our job to never come out with what is said in the heat of the moment. That usually is respected by everybody."

The Football Association said today that the issue is closed unless Everton make a formal complaint, as Hull did in 2009 when Fabregas was accused of spitting at Hull assistant manager Brian Horton following an FA Cup match.

The player was later cleared by the FA but Fabregas is no stranger to controversy - seven years ago he was thought to have been among the Arsenal players who threw pizza at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson following Arsenal's 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

And last month, the 23-year-old was branded a diver by Wigan boss Roberto Martinez after Gary Caldwell was sent off for a tackle on Fabregas.

"People are more demanding and Cesc has to live with that," said Wenger. "It is not easy but he is a very intelligent man and he will learn very quickly to cope with that.

"Cesc is 24 this year, he has played 250 games in the Premier League - at that age, it is remarkable.

"He has gone through a lot of difficult moments during his career but has always come out stronger - he is a fantastic leader."

Wenger also confirmed that Lukasz Fabianski will miss the rest of the season after deciding to undergo surgery in Germany on a shoulder problem.

Fabianski initially suffered the problem during a pre-match warm-up before playing the entirety of Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Manchester City last month.

Wojciech Szczesny has taken responsibility for Fabianski's injury, claiming: "I was warming Fabian up before the game with Manchester City and I took a very powerful shot.

"He made a beautiful save but also got an injury. I didn't do it on purpose, I was just doing my job. I feel stupid about it. I even told him it would have been better if he didn't save that shot. I take advantage of my team-mates' misfortunes."

Wenger confirmed Szczesny would be in goal for Saturday's trip to Newcastle and will have Theo Walcott available but Alex Song has been ruled out with a knock.