'It's not right' - Nick Woltemade hits out at 'lucky' Arsenal star following Newcastle United incident
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade and Arsenal defender Gabriel clashed during Sunday’s match at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United conceded twice late on to lose 2-1 to Arsenal at St James’ Park to make it one win in their opening six matches so far this season.
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The Magpies took the lead through Nick Woltemade in the first half as the German forward beat Gabriel to head the hosts in front.
The Arsenal defender then clashed with Woltemade, raising his arm towards the 6ft 6in player’s face in an incident that was not spotted by referee Jarret Gillett at the time, and VAR refrained from intervening.
Gabriel remaining on the pitch proved to be crucial as he ended up scoring a 96th minute winner after substitute Mikel Merino headed Arsenal level 12 minutes earlier against his former club.
Gabriel ‘lucky’ with Nick Woltemade incident
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher felt the Arsenal defender was ‘lucky’ but his offence was not worthy of a red card.
“I think he's lucky he didn't actually strike [Woltemade] properly because where he's got lucky is the referee hasn’t seen it, it’s gone to VAR,” Gallagher said. “The VAR say red card or nothing and it's decided it's not a red card. I don't think it's a red card.
“I think the referee sees it, he's certainly going to get a yellow card. I think what was clever there is the referee has realised something's happened and just calmed them down and took the sting out of it.”
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Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta claimed he ‘didn’t see’ the incident when asked after the match while Woltemade hit out when speaking to Sky Sports.
“I felt his elbow in my face and I'm two metres [tall], so his arm has to be really high,” said the 23-year-old. “I don't want to fall down, but I think maybe in this situation, I don't know, I just said it to the referee: ‘I felt something in my face and I think it's not right to feel something in your face’.
“But I'm not the type of player who will fall down for this, but it's hard because I guess sometimes maybe you have to do it.”
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Former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd added: “[Woltemade] said it there. I mean, if he goes down there and starts holding his face, they're probably going to go to VAR and see what happened.
“Then there's going to be a decision to make. But, I mean, the fact that he's an honest player and he stood strong. Gabriel shouldn't have done that. That could have been costly for Arsenal.”
The defeat leaves Newcastle sitting with six points after six games, two points above the relegation zone and 15th in the table. Next up is Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League before hosting Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.