Arsenal beat Newcastle on Saturday evening, but, once again, there was plenty of controversy in this game.
There was a flashpoint involving Nick Pope and Viktor Gyokeres, and that has quickly turned into another refereeing debate after a season full of VAR controversies.
Arsenal fans believe Nick Pope should have been sent off, while others claim this was merely a bookable offence.
There is no dispute about the foul itself. Pope rushed out of his area and brought down Gyokeres around 35 yards from goal, immediately raising the question of whether it should result in a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Speaking exclusively to Arsenal Insider, Mark Clattenburg has shared his verdict on this incident.
How would you have handled the Nick Pope incident during Arsenal vs Newcastle?
Mark Clattenburg says Nick Pope shouldn’t have been sent off
Mark Clattenburg was steadfast in his belief the referee got it right here.
The former Premier League official claims that Thiaw’s backtracking run was enough to negate the ‘denial of a goalscoring opportunity’ debate, and thus, a yellow card was the right decision.
“No one can argue that there was a foul by Nick Pope on Viktor Gyokeres and the only question for the referee is does Gyokeres have a goalscoring opportunity. When the foul happens, Malick Thiaw would clearly have got to the ball first so this makes the decision of a yellow card correct by the referee.”
For a red card to be given in that situation, Gyokeres would need to have a clear path to goal. With Thiaw tracking back and in a strong position to recover, the referee judged that the chance was not obvious enough to meet that threshold. That interpretation keeps the punishment at a yellow card rather than a dismissal.
Mikel Arteta, however, saw it differently, as he explained on Sky Sports.
“A really debatable no red card for the second time in two games because against City we should have played against 10 men at 1-1, I just watched it back, and it’s clear.
“Because if that happens with Pope inside the box and the defender is outside, it’s a red card.”
His frustration is not just about this one incident. He is linking it to a wider pattern, pointing to a similar situation against Manchester City where he felt Arsenal were denied an advantage.
At this stage of the title race, these refereeing decisions are huge, and Arsenal need a bit of luck on this front.
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