The England defender revealed that the teenaged Belgian had been ‘heartbroken’ after being sent off in the 3-0 defeat to the Gunners that dropped City to fourth in the table.
“It was just one of those things,” insisted Richards. “Dedryck just mistimed the tackle; there was no malice in it whatsoever.
“Dedryck can look at the bench yesterday and be proud he got selected ahead of some experienced players. The manager has shown he has confidence in him just as he did last season when he played him in the semi final of the cup.
He will learn from the experience I am sure and he is going to be some player. He has all the attributes to make him a top defender
...Micah Richards...
Richards believes that the Blues first defeat following four successive league victories flattered the Gunners.
“They are a good side but I still feel we deserved better than a 3-0 defeat,” he said. “We came out fired up and ready for the challenge.
“We carved them open a couple of times in the opening seconds and even after we went one down there were chances for us to come back into the match. In fact our chances were more clear cut than theirs.
“It is never nice to lose especially when you have put so much effort and work into a match but our confidence has not been hit by the defeat.
“We know we are a good side and so do Arsenal and Chelsea and every other team. There is a feeling that everything is coming together nicely in the Premier League and in the Europa Cup.
“The manager came in after the match and told us to keep our spirits up and that to perform as we did and be in the game for as long as we were against a good Arsenal side with a one man advantage was a good effort.
“All we have to do now is bounce back against Wolves next week when we will have had a week to prepare.”
