Arsene Wenger has claimed that society as a whole, and not just football, has a gambling problem in the wake of Joey Barton’s 18-month ban for betting on games.

The Burnley midfielder, who plans to appeal, was banned after allegedly placing 1,260 bets on football matches between March 2006 and May 2013, 30 of which were games involving him.

Barton, when reacting to the ban, said the FA should reconsider its own dependence on the gambling industry if they were actually serious about tackling the problem.

Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Petr Cech - 6 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Gabriel - 5 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Laurent Koscielny - 5 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Nacho Monreal - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Hector Bellerin - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Francis Coquelin - 6 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Granit Xhaka - 6 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Kieran Gibbs - 5 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Mesut Ozil - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Alexis Sanchez - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Theo Walcott - 5 out of 10 Theo Walcott Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Kasper Schmeichel - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Danny Simpson - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Yohan Benalouane - 8 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Robert Huth - 8 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Christian Fuchs - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Riyad Mahrez - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Wilfred Ndidi - 8 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Danny Drinkwater - 6 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Marc Albrighton - 8 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Jamie Vardy - 7 out of 10 Getty Arsenal vs Leicester player ratings Leonardo Ulloa - 6 out of 10 Leonardo Ulloa Getty

And while Wenger agrees with Barton being punished, he echoed his views that it’s no surprise that people get addicted to gambling, when it is advertised everywhere across television coverage.

“Well it is a little bit of a general problem in our society,” Wenger said. “Everywhere you can bet so you cannot be surprised that some people get addicted.

“If you don’t want people to bet, you don’t make betting official. Out of 100 people you would get five who get addicted, so if you don’t want that to happen you don’t make it official.

“I think football deals with the problem very well. If you don’t follow the rules you are punished.

“You see it on Sky Sports, everywhere. You have not to be surprised that people get addicted.