Arsenal earned an important 1-0 win over Newcastle United but Mikel Arteta was left angered by the decision not to send Nick Pope off.
Former Premier League manager Dermot Gallagher has disagreed with Mikel Arteta after Nick Pope escaped action against Arsenal. The Newcastle United goalkeeper was caught in no man’s land and clattered Gunners striker Viktor Gyokeres as he looked to race through on goal with the English shot-stopper only receiving a yellow card.
Meanwhile, former striker Jay Bothroyd was in agreement with the ex-official that a yellow card was the right decision by Sam Barrott. Gallagher argued that Gyokeres wouldn’t have reached the loose ball, before being hauled down by Pope, and covering Magpies defender Malick Thiaw would have made the covering tackle.
At the time, Arsenal were leading thanks to Ebere Eze’s wondergoal, and the man advantage could have made the proceedings less stressful as they went on to win by a single goal. The effort was enough to help the Gunners to a 1-0 win and meant that Arteta’s side returned to the top of the table ahead of Manchester City, playing a game more.
Gallagher said: “I thought it was a yellow card. I think he’s not moving towards goal, he’s not in possession of the ball, he’s too far on the wing and I think there’s a covering player. There’s so many different variations, I think it’s possible but not obvious.
“If you run it again, I don’t think Gyokeres would’ve got the ball because he stops. He anticipates Pope getting the ball, he stops, that’s why I think Thiaw will definitely get the ball and not him.”
Bothroyd, who began his career at Arsenal before playing over a century of games for Cardiff City, was in agreement with Gallagher. The 43-year-old argued it’s not a goalscoring opportunity.
He said: “I agree. There’s another angle where you see Gyokeres step on to Pope’s boot and that’s how he initially goes down. Thiaw is there and is in close proximity to sprint onto that. It’s not an obvious goalscoring situation.
“If he gets there, potentially he could, but that’s why I don’t think it’s a red card. Thiaw is close enough where he could probably make a challenge. He’s not sluggish, he’s quite quick. Pope has impeded him, but he hasn’t knocked him over.”
The sentiment wasn’t shared by Arteta, who was left incensed by the decision not to reduce the visitors to 10 men. The incident occured during the heat of a Premier League title race where any call could be crucial to the end result in the batttle to reach the summit of English football.
The Arsenal boss argued that it was back-to-back weeks where a red card hadn’t been awarded to their opponents as he argued Manchester City should have been reduced to 10 men during their top-of-the-table showdown, where City won 2-1 to cut the gap.
He said: “It’s a clear red card. I’ve watched it 10 times. If you have ever played football, it is a red card.
“It’s the second time in two games because I guess Manchester City, when Kai Havertz goes through, Khusanov fouls him, 1-1, the title is there … it is a red card, guys. So these are the margins as well and hopefully that’s going to change.
“I’m here to give my opinion and somebody that has been in the game for a long time … you talk to any of the players, because the trajectory of where the ball is, there’s no keeper there. If that were to happen the other way around, it’s a red card.
“I’m saying the reality of the last two games, in crucial moments when everything is at stake, we need everything to go our way and it hasn’t. I’m not putting any excuses, I’m the first one to understand. I didn’t talk about it when we lost the game [at City]. I’m doing it 1777278670 when we won. It’s a red card today. It’s a red card in Manchester and the world is different. That’s it.”
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