Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has taken yet another shot at the state of Premier League officiating and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, saying the former Liverpool star took advantage of the referee's "naivety."

The French tactician didn't mince his words following the 3-1 defeat against City before the international break, accusing Sterling of diving.

Per James Benge of the London Evening Standard, he only narrowly avoided a sanction for those comments, but that didn't deter him from commenting further in an interview with beIN Sports:

"[Sterling] used the naivety of the referee in a very positive way.That’s why I said the referees don’t work, they don’t do their homework.

"They’re professional in England, one of the few countries. Look at their schedule and look at how many will go to the World Cup.

"I didn’t say that in a negative way, I said he used the fact he was in front of our defender [Monreal] to dive and he dived. In a few years he’ll say that as well. In the heat of the moment he’ll deny it."

He also stated he's not afraid of any punishment the Football Association could still impose.

City took advantage of an error from the assistant when Gabriel Jesus scored in the match, as David Silva played the Brazilian in from an offside position. Nacho Monreal's perceived foul on Sterling was also a point of contention, although most pundits disagreed with Wenger and believed it was a penalty.

Among them were Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, who urged the Arsenal boss to apologise, via City Watch:

The FA's decision not to sanction Wenger for those comments came as a surprise, as other managers have faced repercussions for less.

Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News was surprised at how little criticism he faced after the match:

The contest took place over a week ago and the international break is in full swing, but it appears Wenger can't let it go. The loss was the Gunners' first in six matches across all competitions, and it increased the gap to Premier League leaders City to 12 points in the standings.

Arsenal will return to action on Saturday when they host rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby. Spurs sit four points ahead of the Gunners in the standings, and Arsenal desperately need a win to keep up with the main title contenders.